


Butterfies and Huricanes

by Froglady15



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-01-06 03:58:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 407,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1102138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Froglady15/pseuds/Froglady15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Endlessly. After the death of Frieza, birth of Trunks and their bond stronger than ever, Vegeta and Bulma are faced with the challenge of what to do next: Return to Vegeta-sei together or for Vegeta to return on his own and return for his mate and heir once all potential threats have been removed? Can they face a potential volatile situation with both known and unknown threats and keep their family together and their union strong or will outside forces drive them apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!  
> Well, here it is! Chapter 1 of the sequel to Endlessly. If you have not read that story, I highly recommend that you do or most of this may not make sense to you…  
> For those of you who read and followed Endlessly and have been patiently waiting for the second half, here you go! I have a whole plot full of drama and twists and turns planned for everyone. I hope you enjoy!! To tell you the truth, I’m a lot more nervous for this half than I was posting the first one!  
> Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> I am not finished this story as I was with Endlessly when I posted it on here, so updates will not be as frequent.

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

**_CHAPTER 1_ **

**_Change everything you are and everything you were. Your number has been called.  
Fights, battles have begun, revenge will surely come. Your hard times are ahead._ **

**_Best, you've got to be the best. You've got to change the world and you use this chance to be heard.  
Your time is now._ **

_**Don't let yourself down.** _   
_**Don't let yourself go.** _   
_**Your last chance has arrived.** _

**_Best, you've got to be the best. You've got to change the world and you use this chance to be heard.  
Your time is now…_ **

**_~Butterflies and Hurricanes- Muse_ **

Vegeta had been sitting on top of a high plateau for the last several hours. He loved this spot. He could sit and think in peace and quiet while overlooking the underdeveloped population of the planet Callisto for hours on end; or at least until Kakarott showed up to bother him. Either/or.

He had dismissed his former First Lieutenant hours ago. His intent on coming up here to think long and hard about which choices he had to make had been cut short when the younger Saiyan had shown up, insisting on discussing his plans with him. They had made no leeway after discussing what to do for over an hour. In the end, they had decided to agree to disagree for the moment. They did not need to commit to a plan at this exact moment and both agreed that whatever they decided to come up with would have to be a firm plan that everyone agreed on.

For the most part.

That was the major dilemma at the moment; agreeing on a plan that would make everyone happy. He had relented on his decision earlier this evening in a moment of weakness while in Bulma’s presence, hence the reason he had fled to the highest platform the planet had to offer in an effort to re think things and to be sure he was making the right choice. The way he felt was that there was no _right_ choice.

Vegeta wanted to leave the women here on Callisto where they would be safe while he and Kakarott returned to Vegeta-sei to settle matters there. Once that was done and it was safe, they would return for their mates and their brats and bring them to Vegeta-sei. In Vegeta’s mind that was the best option.

Unfortunately, Bulma, Kakarott and Kakarott’s mate, Chi-Chi did not feel the same way on the matter. While Kakarott understood the potential risks and reasons for his decision and agreed that it would not be safe for Bulma, he did not want to leave his own mate and child behind; neither would he let Vegeta return on his own to face whatever it was that would be waiting for him.

Vegeta had filled Kakarott in on the conversation he had had with his father several weeks back. Both of them agreed that if King Cold was now threatening Vegeta-sei it would be unwise for Vegeta to arrive on his own. King Vegeta had proved time and again that he would strike whatever deal necessary with the Ice-jin king if it meant keeping his own hyde and position safe. Both agreed that if he went back, they had to go together.

As he sat there, weighing out his options and considering several scenarios. His mind drifted back to the events earlier that evening.

**_Flashback_ **

**_“Vegeta, you’re not leaving without us.” Bulma said firmly to him, her hands on her hips and her face set in a determined scowl._ **

**_“What,” he snorted. “You do not trust me?”_ **

**_“Yes, Vegeta. I trust you with my whole heart.” She replied with a frown and crossing her arms. “I don’t trust them. I don’t trust your father, I don’t trust Asia and I don’t trust any of those men on your father’s council.”_ **

**_“Neither do I, Woman.” He said. “That is why I am leaving you and Trunks here until I sort things out over there and I know that you will both be safe.”_ **

**_“But who knows how long that will even take, Vegeta.” She objected. “It could take weeks, months, maybe even years for you to figure it all out and make it right!”_ **

**_“Then so be it,” he sighed. “I will be able to focus and concentrate on things better without you and Trunks around.”_ **

**_“Will you?”_ **

**_“Yes. If you both remain here, I will know that you are both safe. On Vegeta-sei, I will be in constant worry.”_ **

**_“Alright, but if something happens to us there, you will know through the bond and will be able to come for us right away. If something happens here, you’re what, a week away? At least! By then who knows what will have happened.” She said. “I would feel so much safer knowing you are close by if I need you. I won’t distract you, I promise. I know you have a lot to do and deal with once you return; I get that, but don’t leave us here.”_ **

**_Vegeta nodded, taking in her point of view; he knew it was a very valid point. It was the only reason he was still arguing about it with her instead of just leaving and doing what he wanted. What if she was right? What if something happened and he was not here to protect her and his son? Could he forgive himself? Probably not. Especially since she was adamantly against him leaving without them._ **

**_“Please, Vegeta,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I love you and I want to support you in every way that I can. I can’t do that if we’re separated.”_ **

**_He took her hand and looked down at it. Once again, he thought about how fragile and breakable she was in comparison to him. He could crush her and end her life in a split second if he so wanted. That meant that anyone on his planet could take her out easily as well, before he even would have a chance to react and come to her rescue should that scenario even present itself._ **

**_The thought sickened him._ **

**_However, he did understand her argument that should something happen to her here, she would be absolutely helpless and he being so far away would not be able to come to her aid. As it was they were extremely lucky that they had not been discovered on Callisto._ **

**_His father hadn’t mentioned how or where he’d learned of Bulma’s survival and him being with her. He assumed it would have been Tonga._ **

**_They had spent a few months there after their initial arrival. It was warm and beautiful and isolated for the most part. It had been exactly what they had both needed after everything they’d been through._ **

**_For the first time ever, they’d been able to just relax and enjoy one another without fear or worry about whatever loomed in the future. He had put all his concerns and fears of returning to Vegeta-sei on the back burner and had focused solely on the short time of bliss they were able to have._ **

**_Instead of showing Bulma around the universe like he had originally intended, they had just remained on Tonga, unbothered. However, they still would have to head down to the main continent from time to time for food and basic amenities as needed. It would not have surprised him if that was how his father had found out about them. What did surprise him was that nothing had been done and his father seemed to have had no knowledge of her pregnancy when he had contacted him._ **

**_“I’m serious, Vegeta,” she said. “It’s a bad idea for you to go alone and leave us here.”_ **

**_“I realize that, Woman but it is also a bad idea bringing you and Trunks with me. My father specifically warned me to not bring you back with me. He does not know about Trunks so far as I was able to tell, but he will be seen as nothing more than an abomination. You both will be walking targets the moment the ship lands.”_ **

**_Bulma sighed. “I get that, but that’s also what your father wants. He wants to separate us.”_ **

**_“Then so be it,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “I will not listen to a word he has to say. I will have no one else as my chosen if that is what you fear. You are my life mate.”_ **

**_“I know that,” she said. “It’s not you that I don’t trust. It’s them. Every time we go our separate ways, either intentionally or not, things take a turn for the worse. What if once you land there he sends spies or hunters to come after us? Then what? He will use us against you.”_ **

**_Vegeta nodded at her. Maybe she was right. How long until his father’s spies and scouts discovered her and his son here? If that happened, he knew his father would use them against him as a bargaining tool. He could not let that happen either. He sighed heavily to himself in disgust at the weakness he had created in allowing himself to form any kind of emotional attachment to her in the first place. Now it wasn’t just her he had to look out for but a son as well._ **

**_His father’s stern council from long ago echoed through his mind: “If she is anything more to you than a bed slave, put her down now and be done with it. Never form a bond with her and most importantly, never get her with child.” He hadn’t listened and had gone and done both, but didn’t regret it. If he could go back and change it, he wouldn’t. If he could change anything, he may want to change that they’d had a son so soon but he couldn’t say he would change anything else. Upon further thought, he decided he wouldn’t even change that if he could._ **

**_Trunks was a really good baby. And his power strength was already promising. He could not wait for the day when he could begin training with him! He would teach his son everything he knew about combat and tactics. He had no doubt in his mind that his son would be as brilliant as his mother and as strong as he himself was._ **

**_He would be hard on the boy as his father had been on him during those early training sessions. He wanted his son to be strong, fearless and resilient; not coddled, soft and sheltered. He would have to be capable of protecting his mother in the event that he needed to go off planet and she could not accompany him as well as if something did happen to him. She would be protected._ **

**_Trunks would be everything he wasn’t and would be the finest warrior and ruler Vegeta-sei would ever see; he would make sure of it. He would be proud to leave the throne to his son once he had cleaned up the mess his father had made. Once things were in order and his son strong and mature enough to handle it, he would be very happy to step aside early and live out his life with Bulma._ **

**_“Hey,” she said, squeezing his hand and bringing him of his thoughts. “What are you thinking?”_ **

**_“About how I am going to keep your weak ass safe on Vegeta-sei.” He grumbled, though thankful she had brought him out of his thoughts. He was thinking too far ahead of himself._ **

**_“Awe! Really?” she cooed. “So you’ll take us with you instead of leaving us here?”_ **

**_“Hmmn,” he nodded affirmatively._ **

**_Bulma pulled him in a tight embrace. “Thank you. I love you, Vegeta.”_ **

**_“Uh-huh,” he sighed and brushed his lips against hers, wanting to dismiss the subject at hand. He still wasn’t sure that bringing her with him was the best idea. He only did not wish to discuss it and argue over it any more. It had been a constant battle between them since they had arrived back on Callisto to visit her parents, Kakarott and his mate and new brat and let them all meet Trunks._ **

**_She kissed him back hungrily, leaning herself into him. He hadn’t taken her since over a month before she’d birthed Trunks. She missed him and their physical intimacy. As she kissed him, she brushed her fingers across his tail, which was firmly wrapped around his waist. She kept one hand on his tail, stroking it lovingly while she let her other hand wander down lower, cupping his manhood outside his tight training pants._ **

**_“No,” he sighed against her mouth as he kissed her back, taking her hand away from his crotch and lacing his fingers with hers._ **

**_“Why not?” she asked with a hurt frown. “I’m fine, Vegeta. It’s been over ten weeks. I’m not sore.”_ **

**_“I know,” he sighed, pulling her closer to him and burying his face in the side of her neck; the scent of her arousal nearly unbearable to him._ **

**_“Then what’s the issue?” she asked, feeling almost offended. This would be the third time in recent weeks he had turned her down and had not given her a reasonable explanation; it was starting to hurt her. Did he not want her anymore? Was he repulsed by her body now that it had slightly changed after childbirth?_ **

**_“Hardly,” he answered, pulling her against him tightly so that she could feel the evidence of his arousal._ **

**_“If that’s not it, then what is it?” she asked._ **

**_“I do not want to risk getting you with child again, Woman.” He said. “That planet where you birthed Trunks did not know of your race and was not comfortable administering you a contraceptive shot. Until I know that there is no risk of another potential pregnancy, I will refrain. That is all.”_ **

**_Bulma nodded in acceptance. She understood and wasn’t too anxious to go through another pregnancy and delivery any time soon either. “You could have just told me that,”_ **

**_“Hmmn,” he grunted._ **

**_She smiled deviously at him as she continued to stroke his tail, this time with a purpose._ **

**_“Woman,” he growled at her, a deep scowl taking over his features._ **

**_“Hmmmm?”_ **

**_“Just what do you think you are doing?”_ **

**_“You know, there are other ways we can pleasure one another,” she shrugged, stroking his tail with both her hands now. “We just need to get creative.” She said suggestively, raising an eyebrow at him._ **

**_“Vulgar woman!” he exclaimed, letting the length of his tail slide through her fingers, removing it from her grasp._ **

**_“Come on, Vegeta,” she whined._ **

**_He smirked at her and pulled her closely to him and crashed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply as his tail began to wrap itself leisurely around her waist._ **

**_She was so absorbed in kissing him, she hadn’t even noticed the end of his tail slowly beginning to creep in slowly down the front of her pants. She sighed loudly as she felt it suddenly brush against her clit and travel further, brushing against her wet folds; teasing her slowly._ **

**_“Oh,” she moaned as he continued to kiss her and let his tail brush slowly against her most sacred place teasingly._ **

**_He smirked against her mouth as he retracted his tail out from inside her pants and wrapped it securely around his waist again before picking her up bridal style and carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom._ **

**_Krillin had left and moved into a smaller home, leaving his larger home to Bulma’s parents. It was large and spacious; three bedrooms upstairs which Bulma’s mother had decorated the master bedroom for them and a baby room right next to theirs. The third room was an office where Bulma and her father could work on plans for whatever struck them. On the main floor there was a massive kitchen, much to Bunny’s liking, as well as two other bedrooms. The main floor was where Bulma’s parents stayed._ **

**_Kakarott and Chi-Chi hadn’t wanted Bulma and Vegeta to leave, but now that both families had expanded so much in such a short time, the small house the four of them had once shared seemed no longer practical. At least both homes were of walking distance from one another. The women kept in close touch and allowed their infants to interact._ **

**_Vegeta carefully placed her on the bed and began ravaging her mouth; keeping one hand entwined with hers and slid the other down the front of her pants and slipped two fingers inside her and began to move them in and out of her urgently._ **

**_Bulma arched her body against his hand, wanting and wishing for so much more from him, but understood the risk. For now this would have to do. She ran one hand through his thick hair and travelled the other down along his chest and abdomen before slipping it into his pants, gripping him boldly._ **

**_He growled in his need and jerked his hips against her hand; he had missed the physical aspect of their relationship as well. When it came to that, they were both nearly insatiable._ **

**_They were completely lost in each other when a loud wail from the other room abruptly pulled them both out of their lustful journey for fulfillment._ **

**_Vegeta sat up and away from her, growling in irritation. “Go and see to your child.”_ **

**_“Now, now,” she sighed. “He’s your child too, you know.”_ **

**_“And nothing more than a nuisance,” he growled, readjusting his tight pants._ **

**_“Well, being that he is your son, it’s no small wonder he’s probably hungry. Wait here,” She said, getting up out of bed but leaning into him, cupping the side if his face with her hand, holding back a giggle at the angry pout on his face. “I won’t be long.”_ **

**_“Hmmn. I am going to train,” he grunted. “Do not wait up for me.”_ **

**_“Alright,” she sighed heavily and turned away, leaving him alone in their room to go tend to Trunks before the whole planet was awakened by his shrill wail._ **

**_Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily in frustration as he sat on the side of their bed by himself for a few moments, waiting until Trunks had stopped crying before getting up to leave._ **

**_He slowly made his way down the hall before stopping briefly by Trunks’ room, peering in carefully and quietly, not wanting to disturb either one of them. He watched Bulma intently as she expertly wrapped up the infant and sat down in a small chair next to his crib before unbuttoning her top to allow the hungry half-Saiyan infant access to his meal. Trunks latched on to her immediately, greedily sucking away._ **

**_“Hey, slow down, you.” She softly scolded him, rocking him gently in an effort to settle him down so that he would not ingest too much and either spit it back up at her or choke on it._ **

**_Vegeta watched them with keen interest. He knew if he left for Vegeta-sei without them he would miss them. How much else would be miss? It never occurred to him until now that he would miss seeing them both every day. That it could possibly take him months to be in a position that he would be comfortable enough that bringing them would not be endangering their lives; how much would he miss in that time that he was gone? He was not sure the rate at which human infants progressed and matured, but he knew that Saiyan infants progressed rapidly. Seeing how Trunks already had immense strength, he had every reason not to believe that he would not mature quickly as well. In his mind, he would be expecting him to be walking soon, which meant that his training would need to start soon. Who would do that if he was gone?_ **

**_In the months leading up to Trunks’ birth, he had been looking forward to training with Trunks. He had wanted to start with him at an early age; begin teaching him how to manipulate and control his ki, how to be mindful of and reign in his amazing strength so that he would not accidentally hurt his mother. He had been hoping to begin teaching him to spar once he was able to walk. How could he do any of that if he was gone? If it took him several months or even a year to straighten things out, then what would he do? His son wouldn’t even know him. He wasn’t sure why the thought of that bothered him so much, but it did._ **

**_Bulma looked up and smiled at him as he stood there watching them._ **

**_He nodded at her briefly before turning to leave and stalk off outside. He needed to think on things seriously before he made a decision._ **

-0-0-0-

Vegeta finally stood up from where he had been sitting all this time. It was near morning; the sun would be peeking up within a few hours. He decided he had made up his mind.

He would return to Vegeta-sei either with Bulma and Trunks at his side or not at all.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve got lots planned! For this chapter…
> 
> I hope this chapter isn’t confusing… Just still trying to set everything up before jumping into the plot. Right now, anything written in Bold Italics is a flash back. Not the bond.

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement. ** _  
_**

**_C_ ** **_hapter 2_ **

Bulma watched Trunks doze off once he was finished his evening meal. She smiled down at him as she gently rocked him in her arms. She knew Vegeta would be annoyed if he came home to see her coddling the infant, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t help it; in a matter of months he’d be huge!  And who knew how long he would allow her to cuddle him? She knew Saiyans weren’t overly cuddly beings; being that her son was half-Saiyan she was expecting that within a few months Trunks wouldn’t want to be held or fussed over. So she would take all she could right now. 

Chi-Chi and Kakarott’s son, Goten, was only five months older than Trunks and was already very independent. He did not like to be fussed over from what she had seen so far. Though Kakarott did not seem to mind if Chi-Chi was overly affectionate with the baby. Whereas Vegeta was constantly on her case about it. She didn’t really understand why? After all, he was her child too. If anything, she wished Vegeta would be more hands on with Trunks. 

He would take him and hold him when she asked him to and while he never objected or complained, it was clear that he was extremely uncomfortable around him. It was like he was afraid he would break him if he held him wrong. Bulma just shook her head and kept her thoughts to herself. He had never managed to hurt her when they were together. Why would he think he would hurt his son? Especially when he constantly reminded her how said son was half-Saiyan, so he would be much stronger than the average human infant. 

Bulma knew he loved Trunks. She noticed how he would look at him when he assumed no one was paying him any mind. She saw how he would keep close watch over him if she was cooking or went to the other room to do something. However whenever she did catch him, he would always act nonchalant as though he had barely noticed his son’s presence. It made her feel good to know that he did care and that he would watch Trunks if she needed him to without having to ask him to, but it bothered her that he did not interact more with him. 

A few times she had come to Trunks room in the middle of the night to check on him only to find Vegeta standing over his crib, silently watching over him. He never said much; and to her everlasting annoyance, he would keep his thoughts and feelings to himself so she never knew what he was thinking or feeling. It bothered her. 

One evening, she had left Trunks in the care of her parents while she went to take the dogs for a walk; they had been rather pent up in the months she and Vegeta had been away; and now that she had Trunks to occupy her time, she felt bad that she didn’t have as much time for them that she once did. So she made a point of letting them both off leash to play and run off some energy together at least once a day.

**_Flashback_ **

**_Bulma saw him exiting the Gravity Chamber on her way out and had convinced him to come with her._ **

**_Vegeta took Aro’s leash and walked beside her on her right; she had Danger walking with her on her left, Aro walking with him on his right. He never fully understood the point in why it mattered what side the dog walked on? As long as it was not trying to walk him and was behaved and not a nuisance, it mattered little to him what side they walked on._ **

**_It was one of the reasons he favored walking Aro. Aro would walk on whatever side Vegeta happened to be holding the leash on. Danger, on the other hand nearly insisted on walking on a person’s left; not that it was a bad thing. Vegeta would only be put out to have to switch sides with him. He knew it was only because Bulma had taught him to always walk on a person’s left, but it was lost on him. So he preferred and usually took Aro._ **

**_He was jarred out of his trivial thoughts when Bulma leisurely laced her fingers with his. They walked together in companionable silence with the dogs._ **

**_They eventually reached the end of the long road they usually took before Bulma let his hand go and let Danger off his leash to run. Vegeta did the same with Aro and the two took off into the long grass, playfully nipping and growling and purposefully bounding into and bouncing off one another._ **

**_They had been gone for a few hours, enjoying the quiet solitude that surrounded them on the warm evening. No crying or diapers to be changed, it was a nice change._ **

**_Before Trunks’ birth, those months they had taken for themselves had been wonderful. They had basked in each other’s presence. No stress or strategizing, they had just taken time out for themselves and did not worry about anything until they knew she was getting close to delivery. It had been so easy when it had been just the two of them. Vegeta was like a completely different person when they were alone together. It was like he could let everything go and just be himself. She missed that. Now that they had returned to Callisto, he had once again gone back to his aloof self._ **

**_“So?” she sighed to him, taking his hand in hers again and leading him off to the right of the road where there was a huge trunk of a fallen tree laying there. They both sat down, watching the dogs play. To anyone else observing them, they might think the two dogs were having a fight to the death by the snarling and clashing of their bodies against one another, however, Bulma was not concerned. They would play hard and then crash for the evening._ **

**_“Hmmn?” Vegeta grunted in response._ **

**_“How’s training?”_ **

**_“Fine.”_ **

**_“Are you still liking that upgrade my father was able to make while we were gone?” she asked. Her father had stumbled upon her plans for an upgrade to increase the gravity pressure while they had been gone. Of course, being the scientist he was, he was unable to stay away from the prospect of a new project, no matter how little he knew on the subject. Dr. Briefs set himself to understanding the physics behind the miraculous Gravity Room and had been able to catch on to it within a few days while his daughter had been away and he had managed to make a few changes and modifications to it as well as upgrade the gravity simulator._ **

**_“It is good,” He replied with a nod. “What is it you wish to discuss, Woman?” he asked, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. He had felt her slight nervousness since they had left the house and knew something was troubling her, however, she was keeping herself somewhat closed off from him and so he was unable to pinpoint what the exact cause was for her unease._ **

**_“Nothing,” she lied with a weak shrug._ **

**_“Out with it.” he growled, not wanting to play the game of guessing why his mate was acting so strangely and hiding her thoughts from him. It had been this way, on and off, for a few weeks now._ **

**_Usually she was very open with him so he had ignored it, assuming that either she would get over whatever it was that was troubling her or eventually let him in on it, which she usually did. That she hadn’t over the past few weeks was starting to bother him. Was there something serious going on that she felt she could not approach him with? If that was the case, what could be so bad that she felt she could not come out and tell him about it? He had not felt that it was a case where she feared him or wanted to distance herself from him; their bond was strong enough that he was able to tell that it was not a case of her not wanting him around her as left over ramifications of what she had been through previously only a short few months ago._ **

**_There were still many nights she suffered from nightmares from what Dr. Gero and Frieza had done to her. They were occurring less and less, but it did not disturb him any less when they did happen. Through the bond, he was privy to many of them when he was asleep and his mind would get dragged into hers as a result of her distress._ **

**_The positive thing about it was that most of them were not factual events that had ever taken place. They were simply atrocities that Gero and Frieza had fabricated and had wanted her to believe. However, from time to time she did have nightmares of events and scenarios they had put in her mind that had actually taken place; much to his shame. He never liked confronting those nightmares with her. Not only would it force him to relive something he wished to never think of again, but he had to admit to doing these things as well. They were always things he would never have wanted her to know about._ **

**_Those nights were hard. More often than not when it was a case of her dreaming up something factual from his past, she would end up comforting him rather than him comforting her. He hated it; it made him feel weak and ashamed. She never made him feel that way; in fact she would get upset at him for feeling that way but it never made him feel any better._ **

**_He felt it was his job to protect her from everything and anything; himself included. When she would have a nightmare of something from his past and it upset her, he felt ashamed. However, he was always amazed how she never pushed judgement on him or asked him how he could have done such things. She simply accepted it. He would argue that he still should not have done things he had and she would argue that he was a soldier. He would counter that it was not an excuse, though it had been the excuse he had told himself countless times over the years to justify his actions in his mind after they had been done, however after the death of Frieza, he found that he could not use that thinking as an excuse anymore._ **

**_Her cold words to him after Frieza’s death when she could not remember their past life together had hit him hard. He did not resent her for them and he had known she was only going by the falsehoods she had been made to believe and he knew she did not feel that way anymore, but the truthfulness of her words still rang out to him whenever he was faced with having to admit to her some of the things they had put into her mind as real events:_ **

**_"I saw video footage of you on several missions. I saw what you are capable of. How many innocent beings you've killed with your bare hands; you enjoyed it. You laughed maniacally and reveled in the carnage you created."_ **

**_Vegeta hung his head, unsure of how to respond._ **

**_"You took delight in destroying those civilizations." She said. "How could I be with someone like that?"_ **

**_"I was a soldier. I was following orders." He answered._ **

**_"Vegeta, there is a difference between following orders and making sport of it."_ **

**_"I never tortured or maimed and left anyone behind to suffer. I simply went in and did whatever job I was sent to do."_ **

**_"That may be true, but you still enjoyed the mayhem and destruction." She said accusingly. "From what I saw, there was no remorse. No mercy or pity. Just a ruthless murderer. No different from the beings who came down to my planet and slaughtered most of us. The rest of a very select few of us, like me, were taken."_ **

**_She could not read the expression on his face. "Have you nothing to say? No explanation?"_ **

**_"What is it you want me to say?" he asked almost bitterly. "I did do all of those things. I will not say I did not enjoy doing some of them- I am a warrior. I come from a warrior race, it is what we do. I am not proud of my actions but what is done is done. I was not myself. I used those missions as an outlet for releasing my pent up rage. That is all."_ **

**_"That's no excuse." She said, shaking her head at him. "Did I know about all of that? Before, I mean. Did I know about how vicious you can be?"_ **

**_Vegeta gritted his teeth. "You knew that I had done things that I was not proud of. You accepted that and never pushed for any further explanations or judged me for the things you did know."_ **

**_"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't believe you. There is no way-"_ **

**_"You asked me to tell you what had happened between us and I have been forthcoming and open with you," he interrupted her. "You and I shared a bond. A mental link. I knew your thoughts and feelings. And you knew mine. You overlooked my past and accepted me as I am."_ **

**_-0-0-0-_ **

**_Vegeta knew he could not change the things of his past and he had accepted that. However that did not mean he liked her knowing everything he had done. Though he knew she meant no harm, he didn’t like being fussed over; especially when it was him that was supposed to be comforting her._ **

**_They had successfully re-established their bond, but were still working through some of the issues of what had happened to Bulma. The ordeal had changed her. Not for better and not for worse, but it had changed her. He could not just brush off her questions about things anymore and leave it at that. She wanted to know specifics and reasons for things. Sometimes he didn’t mind it, and sometimes it drove him crazy and he wished she would just leave things alone._ **

**_He wondered now what it was that she was bothered over and hoped more than anything it wasn’t something else to do with his past that was bothering her; he did not feel like discussing it._ **

**_“Are you going to tell me what your issue has been these past few weeks or am I to continue ignoring it until you decide to fill me in?” he asked abruptly._ **

**_“I don’t have an issue,” she answered. “I just wish you’d spend more time interacting with Trunks is all. You don’t go out of your way to hold him or do much of anything unless I ask you to, which I do appreciate, but I just wish you would more go out of your way to bond with him instead of just taking him when I need your help.”_ **

**_Vegeta frowned as she spoke. “You wish for me to dote on him and coddle him constantly as you do?”_ **

**_“Well, maybe not constantly. I know that’s not who you are and I don’t expect that of you, but if you would just take the initiative once and a while, it would be nice. I sometimes feel like you don’t care about him and I know that isn’t true. I know you care,” she answered carefully, not wanting to offend him or pick a fight. She want even sure she knew what she wanted from him now that they were actually discussing it and she felt silly for even bringing it up. “I just want you to spend time with him. He’s a baby; he won’t be little and cute for long and I don’t want you to miss out on these early precious stages. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. That’s all.”_ **

**_"Woman, my own father did not hold or coddle me or have any use for me at that age," he replied dryly. "I do not think he held me even once." He added quietly almost as an afterthought._ **

**_"Okay, that does not surprise me that he wouldn’t, but you aren’t your father. You always say how you want to be nothing like him where raising Trunks is concerned, yet here you are; you have every opportunity in the world to raise him differently from how you were raised and yet you seem to want to ignore him every chance you get and act as though he is nothing more than an inconvenience, and what annoys me is that you act this way and I know that’s not really how you feel."_ **

**_"What is it you are expecting from me? He is a Saiyan. I do not want him growing up to be weak and pathetic."_ **

**_"He won’t grow up to be weak and pathetic, Vegeta." she argued in annoyance. "He will grow up to be strong and have a good sense of self-esteem and values because he will know that he is loved by both of his parents."_ **

**_Vegeta growled at her. "That is your department, Woman. It will be my responsibility to train the boy up. Until then, I have nothing to offer him. He is your responsibility."_ **

**_"That's so not true, Vegeta! You have lots to offer him-"_ **

**_"Like what?" he cut her off. "Telling him stories about what it was like to spend my childhood living under the rule of the most notoriously evil tyrant this universe has ever known?"_ **

**_"What about before that?"_ **

**_"There was nothing before that!" he sighed irritably._ **

**_"Your mother-"_ **

**_"There is nothing to discuss where she was concerned. She was weak and died. It destroyed my father and I was sent into slavery. Before that my father was not a tolerant man. It was my mother's job to raise me and my father's job to train me. By the time I was able to walk I began my training. The rule was keep up or prepare for a beating. That is the only interaction I had with my father."_ **

**_"That's nice, and that's what you want for Trunks? For him to grow up like you did with no fond memories of his father at all what so ever? I thought you wanted to be different?"_ **

**_"It will be different!"_ **

**_"How so? Because from the picture you are painting it doesn’t sound much different to me."_ **

**_"I will start training him as soon as he is able to handle it. I will go easy on the boy until he is capable of defending himself. I will not simply beat him to a pulp the first time we train-"_ **

**_"I certainly hope not!" she objected. "If that's the case, then I don’t care what you want, you will absolutely not be training him. Is that clear?"_ **

**_Vegeta rolled his eyes at her over reaction. "He is half-Saiyan. He can handle almost anything, Woman; and that is not the point. I will not simply throw him in and expect him to be able to keep up with me as my father expected of me. Nor will he ever be sent away to be a slave to anyone. My son will be a slave to no one. He is my heir and will be treated as such and be expected to behave as such._ **

**_"Therefore, I cannot be doting on him and coddling him. I will allow him only so much from you because I understand that is something of your culture but the time will come and you will need to let him be if he is to grow up to be strong. My people will not be accepting of him simply because of his paternity and his life will not be easy. The last thing he will need is to be mocked and ridiculed because his mother insists on unnecessarily coddling him and he being unable to defend himself from those determined to harm him. I will not allow him to be a sniveling brat and I will not let you encourage that. I will stand my position on this._ **

**_“I will watch over and protect the boy, I till teach him everything I know; it is all I know. Do not mistake my lack of affection I bestow on him as meaning that I do not care about him. He is my son; you are my mate.”_ **

**_"I get all that, but he's just a baby." she sighed. Why wasn’t he getting her point on this? "I know I can’t be overly affectionate with him if we make it back to Vegeta-sei, which by the way you still haven’t discussed what we are doing or of we are doing anything with that. Are we returning? And if so, When?"_ **

**_"I will be leaving soon." he said, nodding affirmatively._ **

**_"You?"_ **

**_"Yes. I will not be bringing you or Trunks along with me until I feel it is safe to do so."_ **

**_"So what do we do in the meantime? You're just going to leave us here on our own?"_ **

**_He shrugged. "You've resided on this planet for a long time on your own without me around. You have your parents and Kakarott's harpy and their brat. You will not be alone."_ **

**_"I might as well be if you're ditching me to raise your son while you go home." she said accusingly._ **

**_Vegeta sighed heavily; he did not want to fight with her. “We will discuss this at a later time. I have not spoken to Kakarott yet about his plans.”_ **

**_“I don’t know his plans either, but I’m almost certain that leaving Chi-Chi and Goten here alone is not in his plans.” She replied, still annoyed with him._ **

**_“Then that is his decision. Kakarott is a third class warrior. No one will give two shits that he has taken a non-Saiyan as a mate and now has a child with her,” he said in a tone more harshly than he had intended it to be. “I have told you this, you will not be accepted as my mate and Trunks will be seen as nothing more than an abomination. Bringing you both back with me is not smart. I do not know how I am going to keep you both safe.”_ **

**_Bulma sighed deeply in annoyance. “I understand that, but I still don’t like it.”_ **

**_“Neither do I,” he sighed. “We will discuss it at a later time, alright? I am not leaving immediately. I need to figure out where Kakarott’s head is at and I need to determine what the state of this supposed war between my father and King Cold is at before I make any decisions on leaving._ **

**_“If the planet is in the state of war then I most certainly will not be bringing you and Trunks with me. If it is not and my father was lying in effort to make me return then I may bring you both back and at least only leave for a short time to feel things out and then return for you both. It will be temporary.”_ **

**_Bulma nodded, understanding his reasons but still not liking the thought of him leaving her and Trunks behind. “I know you’ll do what you feel is best. I’ll try my best to support you on it even if it’s something I disagree with. They’re your people. You know them better than I do.”_ **

**_“Hmmn.” He grunted, not wanting to comment or discuss things further. “I will put more of an effort in with Trunks.”_ **

**_“Thank you,” she smiled, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arm around his waist and leaning into him, her head resting on his shoulder. It wasn’t very often she got him to compromise with her on anything. “That means a lot. Especially if you do leave without us. He’s still so young, he’ll forget you. I want him to know his father.”_ **

**_“He will.”_ **

**_“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” she whispered. “What if you go back and there is a war and you’re killed? What if you’re captured and are unable to return for us?”_ **

**_“You are thinking too far ahead of yourself, Woman,” he growled. “I do not even know if there is a war. My father may have just said that to make me return in haste. And if there is a war, no one can match me. I will end them all.”_ **

**_Bulma nodded, not wanting to get into that just right now either lest she voice her fears and have them come true. For now, she would enjoy what they had right now._ **

**_Present day…_ **

That conversation had taken place a few weeks ago and she was just glad that he was still here, that they were together and Vegeta had kept to his word and had been putting more of an effort in with Trunks. He still wasn’t overly affectionate with him, but he had started exposing the boy to small amounts of Ki and made a point of being around more than he had been before she had spoken to him about her concerns. 

She smiled to herself as she reflected on their conversation this evening and how he had finally agreed to bring them with him. She knew he was only worried for their safety, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that his going on his own was the worst plan and so she refused to back down on her insistence that he bring them with him.

Bulma put Trunks back into his crib for the night once he was sound asleep and headed back to her room. She changed into her nightgown and went to bed, hoping Vegeta would not stay out too late. She hated sleeping alone without him, but drifted off to sleep nonetheless. 

-0-0-0-

Bulma awoke the next morning with the familiar feeling of his warm embrace. She smiled sleepily as she snuggled herself in closer to him, wondering how he hadn’t woken her up? Since Trunks’ birth she had become a very light sleeper. 

Thinking of Trunks, she tried to sit up to go and check on him, only to be pulled back into his chest; his arms firmly wrapped around her waist like a vice so she could not escape. 

“Stay,” he mumbled sleepily. 

“I need to check on Trunks before he wakes up and then wakes up the whole block.”

“The boy is fast asleep; he will not wake for a little while yet.” He said, skimming his nose along the back of her neck, taking in her scent. 

She turned around awkwardly in his arms so she was facing him. “When did you finally get in?”

“A few hours ago,” he answered. “I spoke with Kakarott and did a lot of thinking.”

“Oh?” she asked, her stomach dropping in dead, hoping that didn’t mean he had changed his mind on bringing her and Trunks with him. 

“We will leave in the next few weeks,” he said. “You and Trunks and myself.”

Bulma sighed in relief.

“You thought I would change my mind?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. Don’t take that the wrong way. I know how seriously you take mine and Trunks safety and that you wanting to leave us here is just you trying to do that, I do get that; but I just don’t want you to leave without us. I have such a bad feeling.”

He was quiet for a few moments, studying her features as he thought of an appropriate response. “I still think that is the best option, but you are right that every time we go separate ways it does not go well. At least if you both are with me I can keep a close eye on you. As well, I am not ashamed of you or Trunks. I made a decision to take you as my mate and I do not regret that decision. You both will return either with me or I will not return at all.” 

She smiled at him, resting her hand on his cheek. “You give up so much.”

He shrugged. “They will yield and learn to accept it or die. I will not return without you and I will not be taking some other Saiyan female as my mate to keep them happy.”

“I love you,” she whispered, stroking her thumb along his jawline. She didn’t like it when he talked like that; it made her feel guilty, but she admired him for sticking to his decision to stand by her. He could easily choose not to. 

He leaned forward and kissed her. “If things go badly and it is too dangerous, I will send you away. Understood?”

She nodded. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure, Vegeta.”

“Hmmn.” He grunted, rolling on his back, pulling her close to him. 

They lay there in silence for a long while enjoying the tranquility of being close to one another. “I will be going to visit the Namek later on today to see what he can find out about Vegeta-sei and King Cold. I need to gather as much information as I can before we leave. I will determine afterwards when it is that we will leave.”

“Alright,” Bulma said. 

After a few more minutes of silence, both contemplating their decisions and potential ramifications, Vegeta tapped her on the shoulder. “The boy is about to wake.”

“Oh is he now?” she said leaning up on her elbows and looking down at him. “You can sense him?”

Vegeta nodded. “Go see to him before he wakes fully. He did, after all, inherit my appetite and your lungs.” 

She smacked him playfully on his chest with a mock scowl. He quickly grabbed her offending hand and sat up, crushing her to him, kissing her deeply. She smiled against his mouth and kissed him back for a moment before pushing herself away from him to get up for the day. God knew, if she stayed even another moment longer she would not be able to leave him; she kind of missed the days where staying in bed all day together was an option. 

As she skipped across the floor and began pulling on her pants, Trunks began to cry loudly.

She shot Vegeta a scowl, in memory of his comment just a few moments ago. 

Vegeta shrugged, “He did inherit your obnoxiously loud voice, Woman. What is it you want me to do about it?”

She rolled her eyes at him, tossed a shirt at him in hopes of it landing on his head, which he caught easily and then sent her a smirk. 

Bulma left their bedroom to tend to Trunks, who was crying his eyes out and flailing his arms and legs around in protest. 

“Alright, alright; I hear you.” Bulma sighed, picking him up. “Let’s get you changed and then some breakfast, hmm? That’ll make everything all better.” She said, taking him to the changing table. 

“I am going early to see the Namek,” Vegeta said from behind her.

She turned around briefly to see him standing in the middle of Trunks’ room watching her work. “You don’t want breakfast first? I won’t be long. I’m sure my mother is already up and preparing something.”

“No, I will not be gone long,” he said. “I must see to this now so that we can make a decision.”

“Alright,” she said, finishing dressing Trunks once she was done changing him. He was squirming already, anxious for his meal. 

Vegeta didn’t say anything further as he turned to leave and headed outside. He contemplated bringing Kakarott with him since his decision potentially concerned him and his family as well, but decided against bringing him and set off in the air towards where the Namek resided.

It didn’t take him long to get there and to his surprise, Piccolo was already waiting for him outside his small modest home.

“Prince Vegeta,” he greeted. “I am glad you decided to stop in, I was going to make a point of calling on you in the next day or so.”

“Is that so?” Vegeta snorted in reply, crossing his arms arrogantly. 

“Your father is looking for you and Bulma.” Piccolo stated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was alright and not too confusing for you all with the flashback within a flashback thing… I couldn’t express what I was trying to without it and went back and forth on whether to just add that bit or not and decided to just do that since I was stressing about writing it so that it would make sense. 
> 
> To all those who love Gohan, I hope you aren’t too disappointed I decided to use Goten instead of Gohan for Kakarott and Chi-chi’s baby. It’s something else I went back and forth on for weeks and in the end decided to make him Goten. No real reason. Probably just because in the Cannon, they have this close camaraderie that I think is absolutely hilarious and I’d like to draw on that maybe later on. Yes, I know in Cannon that Trunks is older than Goten, but they’re still close enough in age that it doesn’t matter. So I hope no one is too upset.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

Sorry for the delay and that the chapters have been so short. I haven't been all that inspired- I know what I want to do with this but have had a hard time getting it out and written down in a way that I am happy with. Once I get into it and have the plot up and running, my chapters will be nice and long as they usually are. Though I did try to make this one a bit longer in order to wrap things up so that we can move along with the plot already!

Hope you enjoy! Please review!

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 3** _

Vegeta returned to their home mid-afternoon in a foul mood.

"What is it?" Bulma asked him as he stormed into the house and across the kitchen without a word of greeting or acknowledgement. She had begun to worry a while ago when he had not returned in a few hours like he had said he would. He had been gone most of the day.

"We will discuss it later on with Kakarott and his mate." He said simply, heading up the stairs.

Bulma frowned and shot an odd look at his retreating form as he headed up the stairs. "Mum, can you watch Trunks for me?"

"Of course, Sweetie!" Bunny said. "Are Chi-Chi and her husband coming over for dinner or are we going over there?"

"I don't know," Bulma answered. "I'll find out. Just assume they're coming here,"

"Alright, dear."

Bulma made it up the stairs and into their bedroom to find Vegeta rummaging through their things and packing everything. "What's wrong?"

"We leave tomorrow," he replied, not stopping to look at her.

"Wait!" she said, walking up to him and placing a hand on his arm. "What's going on? What did Piccolo say?"

"There is a war brewing between my father and Cold, and my father has sent scouts out to look for you," he said, pausing for a moment. "The Namek has turned them away twice now, advising them that we are not here and that there is no need for them to search the planet. However, that will only stave them off for so long before they insist on searching the planet themselves.

"We must leave immediately," he said, continuing to pack their belongings. "There will be a ship available tomorrow morning, first thing."

"Alright," she said quietly, absorbing what he had just told her. She agreed with him that if his father had sent scouts out to look for them that staying here would be the worst idea. She had come to love this place as her home and did not want anything to happen to it. "Are we going to Vegeta-sei?"

He stopped for a moment in thought before nodding. "Yes. I do not think it is the safest place, but if my father wants us, then we shall go to him. I will not be leaving you here to be discovered and I do not know anywhere else safe for you to stay. On Vegeta-sei I will be able to keep watch over you and Trunks."

Bulma nodded, relieved that he was still planning on bringing them with him. "Have you talked to Kakarott yet?"

"No," he shook his head. "I simply told him to bring his mate and child over later on. We will discuss it at length then."

Bulma watched him as he continued to chuck things in a travel bag almost frantically. He was clearly shaken up and this frightened her to her core that he was that visibly shaken up. "Are they coming here now?"

"I do not know," he said, zipping up the bag and tossing it to the floor before grabbing another from the closet and beginning to pack it. "How many capsules do you have?"

"I have lots," she said still watching him. "What did Piccolo tell you?" she asked again.

"Nothing." He said elusively.

"Vegeta! What did he say?" she demanded. "You said this morning that we would be leaving soon; that was hours ago. Now you come back home in a mad panic, packing everything in a hurry and tell me that we have to leave tomorrow; I deserve an explanation."

"Woman, just trust me," he sighed irritably. "I will fill you in later on. Just get the child's things together. We leave tomorrow."

She continued to look at him a long moment, trying to pick up on anything through their bond but could not. She was about to ask him again when he abruptly stopped what he was doing and glared at her. "I am not screwing around," he said quietly.

"Obviously," she nodded.

"Then why are you standing there staring at me like I am an idiot?" he asked irritably. "Do you think this is a joke?"

"No," she said. "I just wish you would tell me what's going on! Is that such an unreasonable request? You're scaring me, Vegeta."

"Obviously not enough that you are still standing there."

"Just tell me,"

"Fine," he said, exhaling heavily through his nose. "My father has sent out soldiers to find us. He wants me to return home immediately and he wants you as well. More than likely thinking that if he has you, I will follow.

"The Namek has assured them that he has never seen or met either of us. That explanation worked the first time a few months ago, he said. At the time it was an easy thing for him to brush off, as we were both off planet anyway and he was unsure of our plans if we would be returning or not," Vegeta explained to her, having calmed down somewhat. "Last night he was contacted again, not only by my father's soldiers but from King Cold's soldiers as well. I am wanted for the assassination of Frieza. His father, King Cold, requests a blood debt to be paid or else both planets will be going to war. Not only that, but if they catch wind that we are here and that the Namek has lied, they will destroy this place.

"My father's soldiers accepted his plea that we are not here but did warn him that they have been ordered by my father and have warrant to search every corner of the galaxy," he continued. "Believe me, we do not want that."

"Wow," Bulma murmured, sitting on the side of their bed. "Things just got serious real fast, huh. Was Piccolo pissed?"

Vegeta shook his head. "Not so much pissed as he is concerned for the safety and wellbeing of this planet. He did not have to ask me to leave. He only informed me of the situation. I told him we would leave immediately so as to not put anyone else at risk."

Bulma nodded, unsure of what to say. Suddenly Vegeta's franticness now made perfect sense to her. "What do you mean that King Cold requests a blood debt to be repaid? Does that mean what I think it means?"

Vegeta finished packing the rest of their belongings, zipped up the second bag and tossed it to the floor next to the first one before looking at her. "Yea," he answered simply.

"You can take him on, can't you?"

"Of course I can!" he snorted. "I am not afraid of Cold. I would face him tomorrow just to have this all over and done with, but I need to ensure your safety and the safety of the boy first before I do anything."

She didn't say anything for a long moment. "And how are you going to do that? It's not safe for me to come with you. It's not safe for me on Vegeta-sei and it is no longer safe here."

"I do not know," he shrugged. "I have not had a chance to work out all the angles. Once I speak with Kakarott, we will figure something out. You and Trunks will be kept safe though; I will not leave to face Cold until I am sure of your safety."

Bulma exhaled heavily. "We're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?"

He nodded in reply.

She stood up and walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her in a tight embrace, which he returned, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her close. She buried her face in the crook of his neck loving the feeling of having him close to her. "We'll figure it out," she whispered to him against his neck.

He rested his chin on the top of her head as he let his mind race. _**Do not be worrying yourself silly just yet.**_

_**Oh, but you can freak out?** _

_**That is different. I have much more than just myself to worry about. I have you and the brat to worry about. I need to find someplace safe for you both so that I will not be distracted.** _

_**What about the lab?** _

_**What lab?** _

_**Bardock's lab.** _

_**Perhaps.** _

_**What's wrong with that? I was safe there before.** _

_**Yes that was before, when everyone thought you were just my bed slave, no one really cared. Now everyone will know that you are my mate. It will be a scandal the moment we land and you are seen and to add to that not only will you be at my side, but we had a child now as well. You will both be targets; Trunks especially.** _

_**Oh.** _

_**Exactly. Leaving you and Trunks unattended anywhere for even a moment will be a bad idea.** _

_**But Bardock would be with me at the lab.** _

_**True, but Bardock is a third class warrior only known for his mechanical genius. Not his physical strength. Should my father send his elite soldiers after you, he would not be of much use. He would protect you to the best of his ability, of that I am certain, but he could be easily overtaken if he has to deal with more than one soldier.** _

_**I'll be bringing the dogs with us. They'll go wherever I go.** _

_**The dogs will prove to be useless, Woman; I have told you that time and again. All it would take would be one blast and that would be that. I could take them out with the simple flick of my wrist if I so chose to.** _

_**Yea, I know that, but I made armor for them to wear. Its ki proof, remember? And not only that, they would be able to sense someone coming seconds or even minutes before they arrive. They could warn us.** _

Vegeta nodded in agreement as he pushed her away from him at arm's length so that he could look at her. "I am not putting my sole faith in the ability of the dogs. I made that mistake once before and look where it got us."

"I know," she sighed. "But they can be of help. Any little bit will work to our advantage, right? And we have the bond. I can let you know the second something isn't right."

He grunted and let her go. "Pack up everything Trunks will need," he said, leaving her and heading back downstairs. "I will be in the gravity room."

Bulma nodded as she watched him leave and grabbed several capsules from the drawer on her bedside table. After capsulizing the things Vegeta had packed, she headed into Trunks' room, quickly packing his clothes and supplies. She left a change of clothes for later on in the evening and left his crib set up. She would capsulize the rest tomorrow before they left.

Not knowing what else to do at the moment, she headed into her and her father's office study room. Months ago, when she and Vegeta had gotten back together, she had begun sketching out plans for various types of defense mechanisms for herself with their eventual return to Vegeta-sei in mind. She had designed and made armor for both Aro and Danger that could withstand ki blasts. She'd come up with a few ideas for herself, but at the time had not known she was pregnant, so she had no plans for protecting an infant.

She and Vegeta had only been back to Callisto a few weeks. Instead of thinking and preparing for this, she had gotten lazy and had spent all her time fussing over Trunks and catching up with her parents and Chi-Chi and Goten. Vegeta, however, had still trained relentlessly nearly every day since they had returned. It had annoyed her to no end, but now with the current situation at hand, she appreciated him and his efforts and wished she had not slacked off in her plans. She had barely set foot into the office since they had returned. Furthermore, she had not picked up with her training in physical combat or sword play since she had left Callisto with Vegeta and birthed Trunks. She knew she would be out of shape now.

Not only that, but she was certain no one would have worked the dogs in her absence. Chi-Chi had no interest and while Kakarott may have had good intentions, she had heard Vegeta griping over his first lieutenant's laziness in not keeping up with his own training regimen in the months they had been gone, let alone making time for the dogs. Sure they hadn't brought the gravity room with them, but Vegeta had still worked out and meditated every single day they had been gone. She wondered how out of shape the dogs would be in with regards to their protection and obedience. As it was they were terrible for begging at the table and sitting on the couches; courtesy of her parents and their lax rules.

They needed more time. She needed time to work the dogs again; time to start planning. What had she been doing these past several months? Since Trunks birth, the infant had taken up every ounce of her thoughts and energy. She recalled briefly Vegeta mentioning that they need to begin preparing for their eventual return to Vegeta-sei, but she had foolishly dismissed him in hoping and wishing that these things wouldn't happen and that if they did, they would have plenty of notice to prepare. She wondered if that had also been the reason for Vegeta's emotional distance from her these past few weeks; he had been training plenty, not listening to her pleas to take a break. She remembered now the night before they had left to return to Callisto; he had mentioned that he had contacted his father. She had still been so exhausted and on medications to help her recover that she had all but forgotten that small fact. It had been since then he had been somewhat withdrawn and distant from her. She felt even more foolish for not looking more into what he and his father had discussed. Trunks had taken up all of her thoughts and concerns.

So many other things now made sense to her; his insistence on leaving her and Trunks here. She still didn't agree with that line of thinking, but she understood it a little bit more now. She wished they had more time to get themselves organized. A week even would be helpful to her.

She shook her head at herself as she began looking through many of the plans and schematics strewn about the office. She had been so stupid to believe that just because Freiza was gone and she and Vegeta were reunited that everything would be happily ever after. She supposed a huge part of her had been hoping that fatherhood would settle Vegeta down and that he would be content on staying here rather than pursuing his father and King Cold; she had always known deep down that it would only be a matter of time before they would be put into this predicament, but was it so bad to want a few years of peace and happiness with her husband and son before jumping right back into everything that had threatened them and their union in the first place?

As she was looking through different plans and drawings, her father walked into the office. "Is there anything specific you are looking for?"

"Not really," she answered absentmindedly as she scanned the plans of something her father had started. "Is this a solar powered generator?"

"It is," Dr. Briefs nodded, walking over towards where she was standing. "This place is badly in need of technological advancement."

"Yea, I know," she said, placing his plans back down on the desk. "I was working on a few things to help out when we first got here."

"I saw," Dr. Briefs nodded, walking up to a shelf of binders and folders and taking one down. "I have nearly completed your plans for a central water system for the entire town. If I can manage a way to make this solar panel work here, then I believe we may be able to find a way to make it planet-wide. I am ready to start on the prototype soon. I just need a few more materials."

"That's good, Dad," she said with a smile. She had no doubt that he would be able to accomplish it if they had the time. "Look, umm, I don't know what the exact plan is here; Vegeta was really vague, but we need to get out of here."

Dr. Briefs nodded at his daughter. "Is he taking you back to his home?"

"Yea," she nodded. "It's not safe here. Vegeta's father is looking for him and so is King Cold. He feels our best bet is to make it easy and just go back to Vegeta-sei where his father is. We'll discuss everything later on and figure out everything, but he wants to leave tomorrow."

Dr. Briefs was silent a moment before turning away from his daughter and going back to the book shelf. He pulled out a file hidden in a binder and handed it to her. "I found these while you and Vegeta were away. I took the liberty of improving on them somewhat for you."

"Thank you," she said, looking through the papers. "These are the plans I had started doing up when we first got here."

"You may find some of them helpful. However you will not be able to build any of them here; they do not have the materials or technology required to finish them here."

"I know," she nodded looking at one of the sketched designs her father had done. "This was the one I was looking for."

Dr. Briefs looked at it and nodded. "It is a good idea, a plasma shield. It would be completely invisible and would envelop the entire body of whomever is wearing the mechanism. I was not sure what you had in mind, but if you could generate that kind of charge into something as small as a pendant or a ring; something discreet, I would think for both yourself and for Trunks it would offer you much protection. You could even make something for the dogs. Disguise it as a tag on their collars. No one would suspect anything."

"That's what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure how to go about it," she nodded in approval. "Plasma is strong, but how do I accomplish it? I know more or less how someone would go about making a plasma shield for like a ship, but how do I change that into something that could help protect Trunks and I?" she asked, pausing to look at the figures her father had done. "I don't know what it is you've done here, but it looks good."

"Well, as you know, *plasma is the fourth state of matter, prevalent in the interstellar medium and in stars. There are different types of plasma, which you had toyed with in the different chemical equations you had started, which were not wrong by any means, they just need to be contained within something, like a fluorescent light bulb, for example," Dr. Briefs explained. "However, if you look into some of the lower-temperature plasmas, a good cold plasma could really help out by reflecting or absorbing energy from a microwave war weapon or possibly even a ki attack such as what Vegeta and Kakarott are capable of generating. Such plasmas are capable of shielding satellites and other spacecraft, making them invisible to radars, or the casual observer, nor will they fry electronics or melt metal. I don't see why it could not shield an individual."

"Alright, so how do we do it?" she asked.

"Well, the trick is to remember that cold plasmas are ambient-temperature, ionized gases, related to those found deep within the sun's core."

"Right," she agreed. "But how do you make it work? From what I remember, plasma, while dense, may not be practical as a defensive shield because of destructive temperatures and high power requirements. I see how it could protect say a ship for a short period of time, but how do you get it to protect, say Trunks? Even for a ship, there's risk of the ship potentially overheating when it repels an attack."

"Hotter plasmas are dense, and this would be a concern." Dr. Briefs agreed. "In theory, cold plasmas can be made denser, but like their hotter kin will demand more power. A cooler plasma could deflect a particle beam or laser attack, depending on what you're shooting at it and how high you can tune the plasma frequency. That doesn't mean it's easy, particularly with a cold plasma. It's a tough requirement to meet but I think definitely possible should you find someplace technologically advanced enough to tune it or manipulate it in such a way that you could use it to your advantage."

"True, how do you make it compact enough that no one would know we're wearing it, yet powerful enough to produce the necessary plasma volume to deflect an attack?"

"You would need a device that could generate an electromagnetic field about itself, much as in the case of electromagnetic defense shields. In this case, however, cold plasmas are ejected around the object; say yourself or Trunks in this case, and held in place by the magnetic fields. As the plasma itself is electrically charged, it adds to the field's strength, allowing it to obtain much greater resilience at lower power levels than magnetic fields alone. The denser the plasma in the field, the better the field will be at deflection."

"And dense plasma shields also offer protection against beam weapons such as lasers or even ki by creating an obscuring cloud that can dissipate the beam's energy; this could work!" she said cheerfully. "I could have a few minutes to hide if there's a cloud created as a reaction to a ki attack on me."

"In theory, yes." Dr. Briefs said. "It should be feasible. However, in order to achieve this, it would have to be a closed shield, which would mean that after several hits, it would need time to recharge itself so you would need to get yourself out of the situation immediately. It would buy you some time; that is all."

"But I could let Vegeta know through the bond that we are in danger. By that time, he'd most likely be able to get to us," she mused to herself. "What about an open shield?"

Dr. Briefs shook his head. "An open shield design would slowly but constantly bleed away plasma just from normal entropy, and any hit on the shield would deplete it that much more. Thus, open plasma shields would require constant replenishing of the plasma, which would require you be near a source at all times. However on the plus side, open shields can be deployed and dissipated rather quickly; much quicker than in a closed shield where you would need to wait for it to replenish itself."

"Hmm, yea, a closed shield would be better," she nodded. "Just a second though, how would we keep the plasma cold? Like if I'm hit with a ki blast and it deflects it, am I at risk of being like cooked?"

Dr. Briefs was silent a few moments as he considered that possible complication. "Possibly,"

"Right, so this isn't such a good idea after all then, is it?"

"Give me a few hours to think on it," he said absent mindedly. "I know there is a practical way around it. On Frieza's ship they had plasma shields protecting the ship and some of the lower ranking soldiers wore plasma shields for protection and they were able to maintain a cool temperature at all times. When are you leaving?"

"Vegeta wants to leave tomorrow," she said.

"Alright," Dr. Briefs sighed, "Let me have a look and a little while to brainstorm about it. I am sure I will be able to come up with some solution before you leave."

"Wait, you don't want to come with us?" she asked.

He shook his head, "This planet needs help. I am more than happy to lend over my creative mind into helping them become more advanced. That young man of yours was correct in his insistence to get you out of here for your delivery of Trunks and his annoyance that there is nothing here to protect this planet from invasion. I would wish to remain here."

"But dad,"

"It will be fine my dear." He said confidently. "When the time is right, your mother and I will come and join you. It will be stressful enough for that poor boy in keeping an eye on you and Trunks, never mind us as well."

She nodded, understanding his reasons, but still not liking it. "I'll keep in touch, ok?"

He nodded and went back to his plans and paperwork. "Go and help your mother out in the kitchen and let me see what I can figure out with this."

She smiled and gave her father a quick hug before heading downstairs to help her mother and check on Trunks.

-0-0-0-

About an hour later, there was a knock on Vegeta's gravity room. He quickly made it over to the control panel, deactivating the gravity simulation and opened the door, which revealed Kakarott.

"Hey, Vegeta," the younger Saiyan greeted. "How's your training going today?"

"Fine," he grumbled.

"So what's up?"

"We need to leave tomorrow for Vegeta-sei. Pack up your woman and your child."

"Tomorrow?" Kakarott asked, confused.

"Yes, tomorrow." Vegeta repeated irritably.

"Why?"

"We will discuss it over dinner, bring your mate and child." He said, exiting the gravity chamber.

"They're already at the house with Bulma and her parents."

"Good," Vegeta nodded.

The two Saiyans exited the gravity room and headed over into the house where they were greeted by the women and the smell of a delicious feast ready to be devoured.

Everyone sat down and ate. Between Bunny and Chi-Chi the two woman had managed to make a feast big enough to satisfy two Saiyan males. They had corroborated and had decided on what they had called an "Asian" theme to tonight's dinner. The two Saiyans had no idea what that meant, but decided it didn't matter, as the meal was scrumptious.

Bunny had whipped up several different varieties of rolls and dumplings; some steamed, other baked. She called it "din-sum". Some of them contained meat, others vegetables and some were of a sweeter dessert variety.

Chi-Chi had made a few different meat dishes. In each portion, the meat was cooked and seasoned with different sauces and seasonings and vegetables. Bulma had even pitched in later on in the day to help prepare another variety of rice and noodle dishes.

For the infants, they had made soup and the women did their best to feed the two hungry half-Saiyan boys whose appetites were fast rivaling that of their fathers. They objected that they were too young yet for anything other than milk, but the two men insisted that feeding them soup with ground up bits of vegetables and meat was fine for them.

In any case, it mattered little to the two Saiyan men, the meal was delicious and so all conversation of the matters at hand were put on hold until they had sampled everything on the menu and had both eaten more than their fill and were sufficiently satisfied.

As the four humans looked on in awe at the amount of food consumed by just two men, Kakarott leaned back in his chair and belched loudly. Both Vegeta and Chi-Chi glared at him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly with a huge, innocent grin that only he could pull off. "That was a delicious meal, thank you."

Vegeta rolled his eyes at his first lieutenant and his horrible manners. His manners hadn't been the only thing to suffer this past year or so he had resided on this planet.

"So, what's the deal?" Chi-Chi asked him. "Kakarott said you spoke with Piccolo today and that you want to leave tomorrow."

Vegeta nodded. "I do not know what your plans as a couple are; if you wish to remain here or go to Vegeta-sei and continue life there," he started, looking at both Kakarott and Chi-Chi. Their plans seemed to change every time they discussed it. Chi-Chi wanted to stay here, Kakarott wanted to return to Vegeta-sei and to his family but bring both Chi-Chi and Goten with him. While Chi-Chi did not want to leave, she didn't want to be left behind either. "Regardless of your decision, Bulma, Trunks and myself will be departing tomorrow morning for Vegeta-sei. Discuss it between the two of you tonight. You may both accompany us or you may remain here. I would prefer that you, Kakarott, return with us. You are still my First Lieutenant; however you also have a family of your own to consider, should you decide to remain here, I will understand. I do not know what the situation on Vegeta-sei is other than there is a war brewing between my father and King Cold.

"The same goes for you," he said, addressing Dr. Briefs and his wife. "Should you return with us, I will ensure you a position in our science and technology department. Kakarott's own father runs that department and would gladly welcome you. You and your mate shall be provided for; she may find employment in the palace kitchen along with Kakarott's mate, should they wish it. It not, other suitable arrangements will arranged. It shall not be an issue."

Everyone nodded, taking in what Vegeta had purposed.

"If I may," Dr. Briefs started, looking at his son-in-law. "Bunny and I will be more content on remaining here for the time being."

Vegeta nodded. "The choice is yours."

"I think you will have a lot on your plate once you return to your home, my boy." he said. "There is much work to be done here in helping this place to thrive and advance."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do, dad?" Bulma asked him. She had really only just gotten her parents back and while she most certainly didn't want Vegeta to leave without her and Trunks, she still wasn't sure how she felt about leaving them behind. "Mum? Are you alright with that?"

"Absolutely, my dear," Bunny nodded. "I'm going to miss you and Trunks and this handsome young man of yours immensely, but the poor young man needs to go home with his wife and son to sort matters out there and not with the in-laws tagging along. We'll be fine here, just make sure you visit often so I can see that grandson of mine."

Dr. Briefs nodded in agreement. "Bulma has filled me in on much of your culture and how you two got together in the first place. You will have much on your mind in terms of keeping her and Trunks safe, never mind worrying about us as well. When the time is right, perhaps we shall join you and perhaps we may make this planet our home and permanently reside here. Time will tell, but do not let us hinder your plans. We will be more than alright here."

"It is not so much your safety that I fear, you and your mate will most likely be seen as palace staff and left alone. I will ensure proper dwellings and you both may come and go as you please. Should you not want a position in the palace, there are many places on Vegeta-sei that you may reside peacefully and no one will bother you." Vegeta said.

"Yea, I was thinking on having Chi-Chi stay with my mother until I figure something else out. She and Goten would be safe there and they would both be able to blend in fairly well," Kakarott said. "I can still make it into the palace every day to help you out with anything or keep an eye on Bulma and Trunks. They can even stay with my mother during the day too."

"No," Vegeta replied. "They will remain in the palace where I will be nearby should they need me. They should be safe in the lab, but there will need to be precautions taken."

"I have a few things," Bulma said.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her in reply.

"I have plans that I had started like forever ago, I found them in the office upstairs; my father completed a few of them. We just need to go somewhere and have them made." She suggested. "Or maybe it can wait till we reach Vegeta-sei? I'm sure they're nothing Bardock wouldn't know how to do since there's a few things I'm still not sure on."

Vegeta shook his head. "No, we will have something for both you and Trunks before we set foot on Vegeta-sei. You may continue to work on these things afterwards, but we will not be landing without some sort of protection for you both. I know where we will go; bring your plans with you."

"Alright," she nodded. "And the dogs are coming too, right?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Awe, I was hoping they might stay here with us." Bunny sighed. "I'm so going to miss them; Danger especially. Did I show you how I taught him to walk backwards and to turn to the right? Danger, come here."

Bulma shook her head at her mother as the now tall and no longer baby Doberman approached her keenly. "Alright, Go back," at which he quickly walked backwards as far as he could. "Good! Now turn to the right," Danger spun around to the right and sat back down so quickly that if you hadn't watched, you'd have missed it. "Good boy!" Bunny said happily, tossing him a left over dumpling, which he caught mid-air.

Bulma held back a laugh as she looked at Vegeta, who wore an unreadable expression on his face. "Wonderful," he sighed, "She has turned semi useful protection dogs into useless circus animals."

"Oh my! Now that's a compliment," Bunny replied happily, "I'll have you know that circus animals are smart and extremely well trained," she said as she tossed Danger another dumpling, at which by this time, Aro had appeared from wherever it was that he had been hiding and was sitting, looking from Bunny to Danger and back again in outrage, wondering why he wasn't getting in on the spoils. "You don't get any because you don't do anything for me, but you are such a handsome boy and are sitting so nice, here you go," she said to him, giving him a dumpling as well.

"He knows that such things are beneath him," Vegeta replied dryly, watching the scene unfold, all the while deciding that he was thankful that Bulma's parents were deciding to stay here. He did not mind Dr. Briefs, but Bunny was a complete enigma to him. Sure the woman could cook up a storm and he would miss her cooking, but he had decided a while ago that he could only take the woman in very small doses. How Dr. Briefs had managed to reside with such a woman was beyond him and he knew that it was a blessing that Bulma had taken more after him than her mother. If she had been anything like her mother, he would not have returned to the tavern for her.

Bulma couldn't help but chuckle at the look on Vegeta's face. _**Don't be mean,**_ she said.

He looked at her a moment. _**Woman,**_

 _ **Don't you 'Woman' me.**_ She replied teasingly. "Danger can stay here with her if she really wants,"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "Very well, but Aro comes with us." _**Are you certain you will be alright with that arrangement?**_

She smiled at him. _**Yea, it's fine. I don't have time for them both. You don't care much for Danger anyway.**_

 _ **That being as it may, you have a lot invested into him,**_ he said to her, watching her closely. It was true, he did prefer Aro over Danger, but Danger was Bulma's dog through and through. He would not make her leave him here if she did not want to.

 _ **True, but I have Trunks now to invest my time into. When I got Danger, I was looking for something to keep me busy and not focus and dwell on you not being around. I love him dearly, but look at how well he's done without us around, he follows her around everywhere.**_ She said, looking at her mother fawning all over the tall Doberman. _**This planet is his home, I don't want to move him if I don't have to; he won't even miss me once we leave and he will protect the house from anyone that comes around who has less than good intentions. I'm fine with it. Aro on the other hand I think will adjust just fine. He's been through all this before.**_

Vegeta nodded, looking down at the Malinois, who was laying down comfortably at his side on the floor.

 _ **Plus I know how attached you are to him,**_ she added with a smile.

He frowned at her. _**I am not. I could care less whether the dog comes with us or remains here.**_

 _ **Sure, then why were you so insistent a moment ago that he come with us?**_ She asked teasingly.

 _ **Because as useless as he will prove to be in the long run, I would still feel better knowing that he is with you when we return to Vegeta-sei.**_ He replied.

_**Liar, that's not the only reason why. You'll miss him too much if he stays here.** _

_**What's to miss?**_ He asked almost defensively. _**He is a pain in the ass, following me around everywhere being constantly underfoot all of the time, shedding on our bed and all of my flight suits; not to mention an extra mouth to remember to feed and a waste of valuable time taken out of my training schedule in order to meet his exercise requirements.**_

 _ **Oh no, you're right, you wouldn't miss him at all.**_ She said with a knowing smile, seeing through his façade.

He glared at her a moment. _**Perhaps his company is not a complete waste. He would watch over Trunks.**_

_**Yes, he would.** _

_**Therefore he has a use and that is why he may return with us.** _

Bulma smiled and nodded at him. "So are you guys coming or going?" she asked, turning to Kakarott and Chi-Chi.

"We're coming too, I think." Chi-Chi said, looking at Kakarott.

"Yea, count us in." Kakarott nodded. "You and Trunks are really the only ones at risk, so there's no reason why we shouldn't come back with you. I'll help Vegeta keep tabs on you."

Bulma nodded, feeling somewhat ill at ease once again at the reminder of how bad things may be once they returned. "Good, I'm glad you guys are coming," She said sincerely. "Our boys will grow up to be best friends."

 _ **You do not have to return with me,**_ Vegeta said to her, picking up on her thoughts. _**You know that I would prefer you and Trunks to remain here until I know that Vegeta-sei will be safe. I will return for you.**_

_**Yea, but what if your father's men decide to look around here? Then what? I can't hide, they'll find me. Our best bet was that you said that your father didn't know about Trunks. I could at least leave him with my parents and come with them to see you if that happens. Then he would be safe and out of harm's way.** _

Vegeta nodded. _**How would you explain away his presence though?**_

_**He has my father's purple hair. He more resembles him than you at quick glance.** _

_**And the tail?**_ Vegeta asked.

 _ **We'd just keep it hidden under his clothes, it very rarely makes an appearance anyway. Unless they take him and physically examine him, they'd never notice it,**_ she said thoughtfully, for once thinking it through. _**I could say he's my baby brother. The timeline works. I could just say that I found my parents here and they had another child together. They would back me up on it, you know they would and that way they would have no reason to hurt him or take him. It's me they want, I would just go with them. Or I wouldn't even have to say that they're my parents. I could just say that they're humans that I live with and I help look after their son.**_

 _ **I will not allow you to be used as a bargaining card or leverage against me.**_ He said after a long moment.

_**Okay. I'd rather come with you anyway. Should we maybe consider leaving Trunks with my parents?** _

_**No. My son will know both his father and mother and of his heritage. If you come with me, so does he.** _

_**Alright. We'll figure it out as we go along I guess. Where are we going to go to get this stuff built?** _

_**I know of a place.**_ He said.

_**Oh really?** _

_**Yes. It was already on my mind since you tossed all sense out the window and neglected to resume your training and pick up on any of the plans you had started eons ago.** _

_**Hey, I've kinda been preoccupied looking after your heir and all.**_ She replied defensively.

_**That is no excuse. Luckily for all of us, it is something that I do not take lightly. It will be taken care of.** _

Bulma rolled her eyes at him and began helping her mother and Chi-Chi clear off the kitchen table.

Vegeta and Kakarott headed outside to discuss their plans more specifically.

"Well, this is scary and kinda exciting all at the same time." Chi-Chi said as soon as the men left. "I'm kinda excited though."

"Vegeta-sei is beautiful, though I didn't get a chance to really see much of it. But it's hot and from what I remember, beautiful." Bulma said to her friend. "You sure you don't want to come, mum?"

"Oh no, dear." Her mother said airily. "Your father and I will be just fine here. Besides, someone has to cook up food and goodies for your trip."

Bulma and Chi-Chi shook their heads but smiled at the older blonde woman, some things would never change.

"Now you both put those boys to bed and turn in early yourselves, you've got a long day ahead of you," Bunny said, taking a stack of plates from Chi-Chi.

"Mum, it's still early," Bulma objected.

"Nonsense, get to bed and let me take care of everything down here. I have so much to prepare for and you'll just get in the way, dear. Plus you both have a ton of packing to do, I'm sure." Bunny said dismissively.

Chi-Chi shrugged and went to pick up Goten from the small play pen they had put both boys in to hang out together. "Are you gonna bring this?"

"Yea," Bulma nodded. "Do you have capsules?"

"Yea, I have a bunch." Chi-Chi replied, hugging her friend with one arm while holding her son with the other. "You sure you want to leave? Maybe it would be safer for you to stay here."

"No, I'm going with Vegeta." She said determinedly. "I don't trust his father or anyone there. And if I stay, Vegeta's afraid I'll be found and used as a bargaining card against him."

"That could still happen over there, you know."

"I know, but I'd feel better knowing that he's nearby," Bulma shrugged, knowing that either decision seemed to be a bad one but not knowing which was the lesser of two evils.

"Well remember, wherever I end up, you can always come crash with us." Chi-Chi said, heading for the door. "Kakarott will always look out for you as well too."

"I know, thank you." she said with a smile. "What?" she asked her friend who had a slight frown on her face at that moment.

"I just realized that I'll actually be meeting Kakarott's parents." She said. "I'm kinda scared. What if they're mad that I'm not Saiyan?"

Bulma laughed. "They won't."

"How can you be so sure? Look at the grief that's going to go on over Vegeta taking you as a mate and having a child with you? What's to say that they won't feel that way about me? He may not be a prince, but is still their son."

"They won't," Bulma said again. "Bardock is the sweetest guy ever. He didn't have a problem with Vegeta and me getting together and even before he knew, hypothetically he related a scenario to me and had mentioned how things would be different if it was Kakarott and I that had wanted to be together and the thought didn't seem to bother him, so why would he be unhappy over you?"

"Oh great, he liked you for his son and doesn't even know me,"

"It wasn't like that, Chi." Bulma said, shaking her head. "He knows I was hung up on Vegeta, always was and vice versa. My being with his son was never an option, he was simply using it as an example to explain the class distinctions and views, that's all. He'll love you, don't worry! And I haven't met his mother, but I've only heard good things. I think you're worrying about nothing, Chi."

"I sure hope so," she sighed. "Well, at least I'm not in your shoes I guess."

"Yea," Bulma nodded. "See you tomorrow."

The two women parted ways for the evening before Bulma picked up Trunks and put him down for the night; he was already fast asleep.

She peered into her father's office on her way to her bedroom to see him working on something. "What cha working on?"

"If Vegeta has some place in mind to have these shields and such built, I have a few other ideas to throw into the pile," Dr. Briefs said, not looking up from his work. "Take them all with you and then decide which ones are most practical; I don't know if they will all turn out to be useful, but take them in any case. I am trying to finish the plans that Frieza had us working on during my time on his ship. It was a very advanced cloaking device.

"I do not know how it could apply to your current situation or if it would be of any use to you at all, but take the plans with you."

"Alright, thanks dad," she nodded. "I'm going to miss you," She said, hugging him.

"You'll be fine," Dr. Briefs said, removing his glasses and hugging her back. "That man of yours will look after you, I have full confidence in him."

"I know he will, dad and so do I." she replied, stepping back. "I'll find a way to contact you guys as soon as we make it and settle in."

"I know you will," Dr. Briefs nodded, sitting back down in his chair to go back to work. "Now get some rest. I will see you off in the morning."

Bulma nodded and headed into their bedroom, closing the door. She gasped when she saw Vegeta leaning against the wall beside the window of their bedroom, apparently waiting for her. "I didn't hear you coming up, I thought you were still outside with Kakarott."

"You and your inability to sense your surroundings," he said quietly. "How am I to get anything done knowing that you are so inept?"

"I don't know, we'll figure it out, Vegeta." She sighed, not wanting to argue with him again on whether or not she should stay here or go with him. "I'll be fine; I'll stay in the lab with Bardock and my father is working on something else for us to take with us to wherever it is we are going before Vegeta-sei."

"I heard," he said.

"So, relax," she shrugged, walking towards him.

"Your father and yourself put too much faith in me," he said. "I still do not know what I will be dealing with once we return and you blindly trust that I will be able to keep both you and Trunks out of harm's way."

"I know you will do everything you can to keep us safe," She said confidently. "That's all you can do and that's all that I ask of you."

He nodded, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hungrily. _**I need you, Woman.**_

 _ **I know, me too.**_ She said back to him as she undid his shirt and ran her hands back up along his muscular form, resting them a moment on his broad shoulders before pushing his shirt off, letting it fall to the floor. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and tugged on his hand, urging him to come to bed with her. He shrugged off his pants before joining her.

She reached for him again and kissed him. _**We can't,**_ he said as her hand found its way his member; he growled in irritation at their situation.

_**You don't wanna risk it?** _

_**No.** _

_**Oh, come on, where's your sense of adventure and fun?**_ She teased, retracting her hand from him and settling for just kissing him.

 _ **The idea of you going through another nine months of that, and a delivery resulting in another wailing brat to tend to is not my idea of adventure and fun, Woman.**_ He said, kissing her back before laying on his back, beside her.

She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She leisurely ran her fingers up and down from his chest to his abdomen and back up again. "You wouldn't want to try for another?" she asked suddenly.

"Is that a legitimate question?"

"Yea," she replied. "Like I wouldn't want to try for another one right now, not with how uncertain things are and Trunks is still quite a handful,"

"Good," he grunted. "If you are that determined on having something else to occupy your time, then bring the other damned dog as well tomorrow when we leave."

"I'm talking like maybe when Trunks is, oh, I don't know, three or four? Maybe by then we'll be settled on Vegeta-sei and everything will be alright. I wouldn't mind. And it's not like here where there's no help or we could go back to-"

"No," he cut her off.

"Not even in a few years?"

"Not likely," he sighed in irritation. "Is one not enough?"

She shrugged. "Yea,"

"Then let us leave it at that." He said finally, reaching for her hand that was resting on his abdomen and placing it on his very erect shaft.

She snorted at him. "And just what am I supposed to do with that?"

"You tell me," he answered, letting her hand go and catching her chin, bringing her face close to his so he could kiss her. "You're the one seeking fun and adventure."

"That I am," she giggled as she began to stroke him urgently, "I can think of a few things, your highness." She mumbled against his mouth.

-0-0-0-

The next morning they all awoke early in anticipation of the journey ahead of them.

True to her word, Bunny had prepared a wonderful breakfast farewell feast that was worthy of Saiyan royalty. Everyone enjoyed the company of one another, knowing it would be the last time in a long time they would all be together under one roof.

When they finished, Kakarott and Vegeta said their farewells to Dr. and Mrs. Briefs before heading out to the ship docks to ensure their ship was ready to go.

Bulma hugged both her parents as she was ready to leave. "Thanks for all the food, mum," she said. Bunny had somehow managed to throw together a ton of food for their trip; enough to satisfy everyone for a few days. "Take good care of Danger for me, okay? Don't spoil him too badly."

"Oh, I'll take the best care of him, dear, don't you worry about a thing; though I'm afraid can't make any promises where not spoiling him is concerned," she said, hugging her daughter back. "I made rations and some special treats for Mr. Aro as well."

"Thanks, mum." She said, looking around for Aro, who had snuck out with Vegeta and Kakarott already.

"Let me know how the plans turn out," Dr. Briefs told his daughter, handing her a small binder. "I finished everything to the best of my ability and knowledge. I hope they will be of some use to you."

"Thanks dad, I know they will!" she said taking the binder and putting it in her diaper bag with all of her things for Trunks. She wanted to look through them once they were out in space, seeing as she had nothing else to do.

The two women finished their good byes to the Briefs before grabbing their boys and heading out towards the shipping docks. They were met half way by Vegeta and Kakarott, who both helped them with the rest of their belongings.

"Everything is ready." Vegeta said taking Trunks.

They made their way to the docks and onto the ship before they noticed Piccolo approaching.

"We are on our way out, Namek." Vegeta growled. "There is no need for you to escort us."

"I'm just making sure and taking note of who all is leaving in case I am interrogated by your people."

"Myself and Kakarott along with our mates and two infants are leaving," Vegeta sighed irritably, not feeling like he should have to explain his doings with the Namek. As far as he was concerned, they should no longer be the Nameks concern. "Should anyone interrogate you, this planet is Saiyan-free. The Woman's human parents have decided to reside here. Go and see the old man, he has intentions to help advance this planet, he is every bit as gifted as Bulma is and just as willing to help out."

Piccolo nodded. "Do your people know about her parents?"

"No," he shook his head. "Until we found them both on Frieza's ship they were both assumed to be deceased."

"Alright," Piccolo nodded. "I wish I could say I am disappointed to see you leaving, but under the circumstances, I am sure you understand."

Vegeta snorted and boarded the ship.

"Thanks for everything, Piccolo," Bulma said to the Namek, giving him a quick hug.

"No problem," he replied awkwardly, unsure of how to reciprocate.

"Go see my dad," she said to him, taking a step back. "He's got some really great ideas to get this place rolling. He can pick up where I left off."

"Noted," Piccolo nodded. "Take care of yourself and remember that you are always welcome back here should things settle down."

"Thanks," she said. "Take care yourself!"

They all boarded the ship and off they went, heading off together to face unknown trials.

-0-0-0-

I will admit that I had fun researching it for this story and researching it kept me distracted for a good day or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you guys go! Hope that was alright… Sorry if it seemed to wrap up quickly, I just really want to move on- I actually have bits and pieces of things already written out for when they return to Vegeta-sei and am really anxious to plunge into it.
> 
> In any case, please review! It makes me so happy!
> 
> And a question: I haven't started the next chapter, but I have a few ideas rolling around in my noggin. What would everyone prefer? The next chapter be based solely on what's happening on Vegeta-sei? Or a bit on our characters journey to Vegeta-sei? Where is Vegeta stopping mid trip? I'm kinda leaning towards a Vegeta-sei chapter since it's been so long… Let me kno your thoughts!
> 
> *AN: References and research on Plasma shields courtesy of:
> 
> -Wikipedia: . ?5101-Force-Fields-and-Plasma-Shields-Get-Closer-to-Reality
> 
> /Defenses/Plasma%20Shields/PLASMA%
> 
> No plagiarism intended! I just borrowed bits and pieces of information and tried to make it easy to understand, yet seem somewhat feasible. Turns out, it may be after all! Who knew? Though the actual theories and in depth understanding of the physics behind it all is far beyond me! Though I will admit that I had fun researching it for this story and researching it kept me distracted for a good day or two.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Sorry for the lateness in getting this chapter done and out… I’ve had a ridiculous work schedule which doesn’t make for much writing time and when I do, I stare at the blank screen with the cursor mocking me. I have, however been writing bits and pieces here and there for this, unfortunately a lot of what I have so far is for quite a ways away down the line from where the story is currently at. But I am excited to use what I have when the time is right!   
> Also, I have a small side project. (Yes, I know, I am horrible author!!) Check out Undisclosed Desires if you are looking for something light to read. It’s a cannon 5 part side story taking place in the 3 years before the Androids. I will admit most of it is just smut, but I had fun writing it anyway.. It was something I started probably a year ago after I finished the one shot: Isolated System. I have worked on it off and on when I felt like writing and I finally decided to piece it together and make a small story out of it instead of adding it to Isolated System. So anyway, NO, I have not abandoned this story- it will be finished! I promise! Though I can’t promise not to succumb to writing little side projects here and there as the mood strikes me- there’s even a new challenge on the Google We’re Just Saiyan Community that’s calling out to me....   
> So check it out! Let me know what you think of it- I love the feedback!
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter!! It’s a nice LONG one for ya so strap yourselves in!

**_Butterflies and Hurricanes_ **

**_Chapter 4_ **

**_Authors Note: Warning for some sexual content towards the end… I feel like I’ve been writing a lot of that lately… *hangs head in shame*_ **

Bulma sat in the pilot’s chair of the ship anxiously watching the red planet ahead of them slowly draw closer and closer. Her stomach was in knots, she was anxious and could not sit still.

One hour and forty seven minutes and twenty eight seconds until they breached the planet’s atmosphere; according to the GPS unit anyway.

She sighed impatiently; she had come up here in hopes of keeping her mind distracted and in the end, sitting up here just made her feel more nervous and stressed out. She had wracked her mind for nearly two days trying to think of a valid reason why they should turn back and go elsewhere but she could find none; none that wouldn’t make Vegeta just drop her and Trunks off and then head back to his home without them until he decided it was safe. She did not want that.

As much as she was dreading their return and the reactions they would receive from all those that would be against them, she felt it unfair to send him to face them all on his own. She was just as much to blame as he was. She never spoke out for him to leave her when that had still been the option. She had sought him out after he had thought her dead. He had chosen to be with her just as she had chosen to be with him. She was just as selfish and irresponsible as he was and so she felt it wrong for him to take the full brunt of the backlash. She snorted to herself at the feeling she had right now. Almost like that feeling she had gotten as a teenager when she knew as soon as she got home she would be in trouble with her parents for doing something she had known she shouldn’t have done. That was what she was feeling, only multiplied by a thousand.

One hour, forty five minutes and thirty two seconds.

She sat there, still looking at the beautiful red planet again. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? She thought to herself and then snorted at herself again and recalled feeling this _exact_ same way the last time she was headed to Vegeta-sei. Only this time it was worse.

Last time she had been afraid because she’d had absolutely no clue what to expect and she still wasn’t sure what the boundaries of her and Vegeta’s relationship were yet. She had suspected that he had been attracted to her but wasn’t sure if it was more on a technical stand point for her brilliant mind or if he was interested in a romantic relationship with her. Either way, she had been scared out of her wits and hadn’t known what to expect. Vegeta _had_ warned her about his father and she had known to give him a wide berth and things had been fine until the king had suspected that his son’s feelings for her were far more serious than that of a man lusting after his bed slave.

Up until that point, things had been fairly easy; she mused to herself. Though at the time it had been a frightening and an emotional rollercoaster ride. She’d been fully immersed into a different culture and their customs. She thought back on it now and gave herself props. She had adapted and gone along with everything pretty well she thought; not that she’d had much of a choice in the matter at the time. Technically she’d been Vegeta’s slave. He had never treated her as such and she was still grateful that he’d found her and taken her with him.

Where would she be if they hadn’t met that night at the tavern? She had never really dwelled on it before for any real length of time. From what she recalled she had taken an extra shift that night too. She had been done for the night and one of the girls had been ill so she had volunteered to dance her shift since she had nothing else to do and her goal at that time had been to make as much money as possible in order to buy her way out. How convenient for her that it had been that same night Vegeta happened to be there.

The prince who did not like places like that had brought his men there as a reward for completing a mission efficiently. She still did not quite know what that meant and did not want to know. Her brief time on Frieza’s ship had shown her the darker side to her mate and what he was capable of but since the man she had come to know, trust and love with every fiber of her being was a complete stark contrast to what they’d shown her, she overlooked it and accepted him.

One hour, forty one minutes and three seconds.

As her stomach lurched again at the stress of what would come to pass within a few hours, she contemplated what her life would have been like without Vegeta. She did not contemplate this long. She would have more than likely ended up being a sex slave at the tavern and if she had not insisted on seeking Vegeta out after everything had happened, she would have been a miserable lonely dog lady with nothing to do on a technologically barren planet. Or she would have gotten back together with Yamcha out of sheer loneliness and convenience. Most importantly, she wouldn’t have Trunks; she physically shuddered at the thought. While motherhood was never something she had ever given serious thought to prior to her pregnancy, she could not even fathom any life choice that wouldn’t include him. While certainly unexpected, he truly was a blessing!

One hour, thirty nine minutes and fifty eight seconds.

She could not imagine her life without Vegeta or Trunks in it; not to mention she would have never found her parents either if she had not done what she had. It was funny how life worked out. Even when things had been in dire straits, things found a way of working themselves out for the best, and she decided that despite the unpleasantness and heavy stress they were about to jump head long into there was not a single thing she would do differently if she could go back.

She hoped things wouldn’t be as bad as she was expecting; sure there was lots she did not know but there were a lot of things working in her favor this time as well.

This time, there was no doubt of Vegeta’s loyalty or commitment to her. They were mated and bonded, their relationship strong; she had no doubt that they could make it through anything together.

What if the King blasted both her and Trunks on sight the second her foot touched ground? She shook her head and dismissed the thought immediately. Vegeta would not allow that to happen. Plus they were prepared for that. She wore around her neck a ki repellant device that was disguised as a very beautiful and delicate pendant. They had tested it out on a planet called A35.

It was a very peaceful yet advanced technological planet that Bulma had wished they could have stayed longer on. The things they had developed were out of her realm of understanding; she had felt like the dumb kid in class while discussing her plans with some of their head engineers. They somehow came to an understanding and had developed many useful tools that Bulma could use to keep herself and Trunks discreetly protected. She really wanted to go back there and see what else she could learn. Vegeta had assured her that he would bring her back there one of these days in the near future if she wanted.

She sighed again in frustration.

One hour, thirty two minutes and eighteen seconds.

She felt her stomach twist again.

“Would you stop your incessant worrying, Woman?” a gravelly voice interrupted her thoughts. “It is beginning to wear on my nerves.”

“Sorry,” she said guiltily.

“You need not be troubled.” He said taking a seat next to her and glaring at her, making her feel even more ill at ease.

“Yeah, okay,” she rolled her eyes. “Your father is going to be so thrilled at our return that he’s going to completely forget that your wife is a less than ideal candidate and that you’re not only stuck with me but a mixed race child as well.”

“You wanted to return with me at my side,” he reminded her. “I wished to spare you of whatever may come to pass. I do not care what anyone thinks but I do not wish to subject you or Trunks to ridicule and scorn.”

“I know, this is all my fault.” She sighed. “I don’t regret my decision to come with you, I didn’t want you to go alone. We’re in this together.”

“Agreed,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. His thumb gently caressed the back of her hand and her stomach did a flip as he gave her a heated look. Never in her life would she have thought such an innocent gesture would inflame her with as much passion as it did. Especially as of late.

“One good thing about going back to your home,” she murmured.

“Hmmn,” he nodded in agreement.

“Where’s Trunks?” she asked, wanting to change the subject before she lost all rational sense and crawled into his lap.

“He is with Kakarott’s woman.”

“You know how much it pisses her off that you never use her name?” she said, rolling her eyes at him.

“Hmmn,” he nodded. “I know. Why do you think I never utter her name?”

She shook her head. “You’re such a jerk sometimes, you know that?”

He smirked at her in response. He _knew_ ; and he was proud of it too. “Go and get ready. I will not present you looking anything less than exquisite.”

“Alright.” She agreed, getting up and hugging his seated form in the seat next to her, pulling his head flush against her waist and ran her fingers through his hair a few times, smoothing it right down before kissing him on top of his head and then resting her chin there for a moment. She knew these precious moments where she could touch him freely, and him, her, would end as soon as they landed.

He then abruptly smacked her on her bum and she yelped in surprise and frowned at him as she stalked out of the cockpit area. He smirked deviously at her as she left before taking her place at the captain’s chair.

He sat there a few minutes, basking in the silence and solitude.

Vegeta contemplated changing course, but stubbornly dismissed the possibility. It was time to go home and face his father. He was not entirely sure of what the reception would be or what he would need to do. All he did know what that if his father threatened Bulma or Trunks, he was strong enough that it would be the last thing that man ever did.

He was very concerned for their safety but at the same time a part of him was relieved and glad they were both coming with him. He was not ashamed of them nor was he afraid to confront his father on his own. He just had become accustomed to having them both near him.

He growled at the thought of how weak he had become since he had allowed Bulma into his life and how much worse it had become since the birth of his son. He had never thought he would have cherished having a family as much as he had come to cherish them in the last while.

He had been constantly second guessing his decision to have brought them with him, but only for the reason of their safety. Bulma’s constant worrying was not helping his resolution any either; he knew that she was worried for him and that she had been trying to keep her thoughts and worries to herself, but he still picked up on them. A side effect of their bond being as strong as it was, it was both a blessing and a curse at times. He did not regret it though and a deep part of him was happy that she was with him. He needed her; as pathetic as it was.

Vegeta had no idea what his father would say or do once they arrived. Part of him did not care; he was a grown man and could make his own choices. The other part of him, the very small boyish side of him hoped his father welcomed him. Though he scoffed, dismissed the thought and berated himself for being weak and stupid. He only hoped he would never put Trunks through this same turmoil. In any case, and as much as he refused to admit it to himself much less to Bulma, he was thankful she was with him. He was certain his father would reject him and his choice in family, but he could deal with it and would cope with it appropriately and her presence at his side would help him through that; though he must never tell her that.

One hour, twenty three minutes and nineteen seconds.

He dismissed all thoughts of weakness and worry of rejection as he rubbed his hands across his face. He took a deep breath and hardened his features before hitting the transmitter button, hailing his home planet. He had not spoken to his father since the week following Trunks’ birth.

He waited a moment.

The video monitor popped up and seconds later a Saiyan showed up on the screen.

“This is Prince Vegeta,” he said to the young Saiyan on the screen. “You are to inform my father that I shall be returning this afternoon in just over an hour.”

“Yes, your highness, I shall notify him immediately of your impending arrival,” the youth stammered. “It will be wonderful to have you back with us.” He added quickly with a small smile.

“Hmmn,” Vegeta growled and disconnected the call.

There. It was done. There was no turning back now.

-0-0-0-

About an hour later, Bulma gave herself a once over in the small mirror in her and Vegeta’s room.

During their travels, she had bought some makeup and a few dresses she felt comfortable but elegant in. All of the other clothing she had was frumpy, unflattering and all around not appropriate for her to be presented to Vegeta’s father in; not that she cared all that much about what Vegeta’s father thought of her, but she wanted to look presentable at Vegeta’s side. She was proud of him and wanted him to feel the same way about her standing at his side.

She chose a blue chiffon dress that started out in a very dark navy blue and gradually faded into a light almost sky blue at the bottom, flowing around her ankles. It had a v neck that was flattering to her figure but not immodest. It had thin gold trim along the neck line, was tight around her ribs but delicately flowed in an A line. She knew she could get away with a more form-fitting dress, but her confidence wasn’t quite there yet. This dress perfectly accentuated her delicateness without being over the top; she wanted to look elegant, not trashy.

She spun around again, deciding she looked pretty good for a girl who had just given birth a little over four months ago. She looked at the small baby carrier sitting on a chair next to the dresser.

“What do you think, Trunks?” she asked the infant who was quiet, but watching her intently. “Does mum still look hot or what?”

She ran a comb through her now shoulder-length hair and decided she was finished. Her makeup was flawless. She had kept it mostly neutral with a dusty rose on her cheeks and lips and a light beige for her eye makeup. She opted to skip the eyeliner and went with just black mascara on her upper and lower lashes.

Bulma sighed once again as she looked herself over one last time before picking up baby Trunks. She had him in a dark blue onesie. Simple, nothing fancy or too cute; Vegeta seemed opposed to anything with prints or critters on Trunks’ clothing. Usually she ignored him and dressed him as she pleased, he was after all her little boy too; but for today she decided to humor her husband and keep things simple. She only hoped both she and Trunks looked acceptable enough even though she knew that anything that would transpire today would have absolutely nothing to do with their looks and everything to do with just who they were. Nonetheless, she felt better knowing she looked great and so did her son.

She wrapped Trunks in a simple white blanket after capsulizing everything and exited their room, on her way to find Vegeta, who was still piloting the ship.

“Hey,” she said to him almost shyly, taking her place beside him.

“You look more than adequate,” he acknowledged appreciatively looking at them both. “As does the boy.”

“You think?” she asked with a raised brow. “I don’t know, I have these adorable jammies that I bought for Trunks; they’re navy blue with bright, yellow, smiling, happy stars all over them. It came with a little navy tuque with pointy ears on top. Maybe I should put him in that instead?”

“You will do absolutely no such thing,” Vegeta said with a frown and went back to looking out the windshield.

“Lighten up,” she rolled her eyes.

“Woman,” he growled in a warning tone.

“I know,” she sighed.

She took a seat next to him and they sat together in companionable silence as the ship drew ever closer.

Eight minutes and twelve seconds.

They were soon accompanied by Kakarott and Chi-Chi who were very anxious to land and get on with things, not sharing the same worries their friends were.

-0-0-0-

The door of the ship opened up and Vegea stepped out first. He took in the scene before him: His father and Asia stood there at the forefront. There was Paragus and a few other council members he recognized along with a few other unfamiliar faces standing in a small crowd behind his father.

He gave his father a stern look, accessing his energy level. Yes, he had surpassed his father; he could _feel_ it. He refrained from smirking arrogantly over this fact. His father would learn very soon just how strong his son had become.

Neither Saiyan spoke a word to the other for a long moment, just both eyeing the other, seizing the other up, trying to get a sense of the other’s intentions.

“Father,” Vegeta finally nodded to the King.

“My son,” King Vegeta replied. “You look well.”

“I am very well.” Vegeta replied. He took a step back and motioned for Bulma to come out of the ship.

She swallowed hard and made an attempt to put her bravest face forward. _This is it._ She told herself as she took Vegeta’s hand and tightened her hold on Trunks who was thankfully still asleep. He led her a few feet away from the ship and let her hand go but possessively wrapped his tail around her waist.

“May I present to you once again, Bulma, my chosen mate and she brings with her, my heir,” Vegeta said boldly to his father.

Bulma cringed inwardly and resisted the urge to smack him. So much for going with the flow and not pissing every one off the second they got there. She composed herself and decided to chance a look at the King; he looked absolutely furious.

Beside him stood Asia who was wearing a beautiful, loose flowing bright yellow dress. Her hair was longer and she looked a little heavier than Bulma remembered her to be but the woman looked just as beautiful and radiant as ever. Her skin was perfect and she carried herself with a sort of regal confidence that Bulma figured out immediately that Vegeta’s father must have taken her for himself as a mate in Vegeta’s absence.

_How sad,_ she thought to herself, however she quickly brushed it off. _The girl had wanted Vegeta. She definitely got herself both a Vegeta and a title_. The thought gave her a little bit of comfort. Maybe since she was mated with the king she wouldn’t have time for Vegeta, though that thought came to an abrupt halt as she noticed the heated way she was assessing Vegeta. She suddenly was thankful she had taken the time to make herself up as much as she did as she fought the urge to grab Vegeta’s hand again just to annoy the other woman but decided to leave it be. As it was, the atmosphere was so heavy she felt like she could barely breathe.

“I also bring with me my First Lieutenant, Kakarott, his mate and their child.” Vegeta continued, gesturing to Kakarott and Chi-Chi, who held baby Goten tightly. Kakarott encouragingly nudged her forward, keeping a protective arm around her waist.

“Your father will be very pleased to know that you live, Kakarott.” King Vegeta said to him, ignoring his son, Bulma and Chi-Chi all together. “He was deeply grieved by your passing. As was your brother and I imagine your mother as well.”

“I can’t wait to see them.” Kakarott nodded.

“Very well,” the King sighed. “You may go along and do as you wish. I have urgent matters to discuss with my son, _alone_.” He finished, looking at Bulma with a harsh glare that made a tingle of cold fear travel down her spine.

She swallowed heavily, trying to keep herself calm. So far, things did not seem to be going at all well. The silence was worse in her opinion than if he had decided to fly off the handle. The king seemed too well composed which told her he was just barely keeping his rage contained. Not only that but he had looked at Vegeta with disgust and contempt and gave herself and Trunks as little notice as though they were nothing more than insects on the ship dock. Even though she had prepared herself for a similar reaction it still stung. Not so much for her, she could not care less of what the king thought of her; she felt sorrow for Vegeta.

“I have nothing to discuss with you that cannot wait until later,” Vegeta replied arrogantly. “You requested that I return home immediately, which I have. I must ensure my mate and heir are settled in. Then I shall meet with you.”

King Vegeta growled at his son, his jaw clenched tightly while he attempted to control his rage. “Very well. I have organized dinner in the dining room for us in honor of your return. Have your mate and yourself ready in two hours. We will eat and drink and then discuss things tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Vegeta nodded once, before turning to Bulma. “We have our own things that need to be taken care of and settled this afternoon.”

She looked away as she felt her face redden slightly from the way he was looking at her, knowing exactly what he was referring to. “We will dine with you later on this evening and I will discuss whatever you wish tomorrow morning.” He finished, looking at his father again.

The king nodded, though did not look happy and sent a glare at Bulma and the small bundle she carried in her arms before turning to leave; the council members following him.

Asia remained for a moment, curiously looking Bulma over in a way that made her feel very uncomfortable; she wasn’t sure if it was good or not. She took a few steps towards her and Vegeta pulled Bulma closer to him.

“I only want to see the infant,” Asia said defensively, shooting Vegeta a glare and coming up closer to them despite Vegeta’s obvious distrust of her.

Bulma exhaled deeply but loosened the blanket around Trunks’ face so that she could show him off to the other woman.

Asia peered at the healthy baby boy asleep in Bulma’s arms. “He has purple hair?”

Bulma nodded. “My father had purple hair,” she acknowledged, remembering to refer to her parents in the past tense so as not to give away the possibility of their existence.

Asia looked at Trunks for a long moment, not saying anything. “I have a son as well,” she finally said. “He is a little over three months old.”

“Trunks is around four and a half months,” Bulma confirmed. “What is your son’s name?” she asked, trying to keep things as positive as possible despite the obvious tension.

Asia straightened up and looked pointedly at Vegeta. “Your father and I thought it appropriate to name him Tarble after your brother who passed away a few days after his birth and in honor of the former queen who had loved and chosen the name.”

Vegeta glared at Asia. “I cannot believe you used that name.”

“I am queen now and your father agreed therefore I can name my son and the new _proper_ heir of Vegeta-sei whatever I want.” She defiantly snipped back at him.

Vegta snarled at her. “Hey, its fine, Vegeta, its fine,” Bulma said to him. “Asia, I cannot wait to meet him, I am sure he is beautiful.”

The other woman ignored Vegeta completely and smiled contentedly as she gazed at Trunks again, “He is.” She nodded and turned to leave, following the rest of the crowd back into the palace.

Vegeta glared daggers after Asia. “Hey, let it go,” Bulma said to him.

“Let it go?” he spat at her. “Woman, that is the ultimate form of disrespect! I cannot believe my father would allow-”

“Vegeta, it’s not our business.” She said firmly. “I’m sorry you find that offensive but right now you’re not in any position to be judging anyone for their choices. In everyone else’s mind we’re the disrespectful ones. You’ve taken an alien female as your wife and have a half breed as a son.”

“I am not ashamed of my choices!” he snarled at her.

“Okay, good. Neither am I, but just leave things alone.” Bulma said to him. “We haven’t been here ten minutes and you’re already pissing everyone off unnecessarily.” **_Don’t make this situation more volatile than it already is. We need to tread carefully._**

Vegeta glared at her long and hard for a moment.

“Hey, Vegeta? I’m going to take Chi-Chi and Goten to go and meet my father.” Kakarott cut in.

“Good idea! We’ll go with you.” Bulma said to the other Saiyan and smiling at Chi-Chi. It would be so nice to see someone who would be happy to see them!

“Is he going to be as scary as Vegeta’s father?” Chi-Chi whispered quietly. “Cause if he is, I think I want to turn around and go back home right now.”

“No,” Bulma shook her head. “Bardock’s not scary at all, don’t worry.”

Vegeta nodded. **_Be sure to take care of business._** He said to her.

**_Of course,_** she replied. **_First things first, right?_**

Bulma ran quickly back to the ship and let Aro out of his crate, capsulizing it and hooking him up to his leash. “Are dogs allowed in?” she asked Vegeta.

“I have shown up here a complete disgrace to my heritage and race as a whole with an alien female as my mate and a half breed for a son,” Vegeta deadpanned. “A mangy dog will be the least of anyone’s worries.”

“Awe, they’ll love you,” Bulma cooed at Aro as he gracefully jumped out of the ship and began to sniff his new surroundings. “And if they don’t, you can just bite them, okay?” She went to hand Vegeta the leash and was met with a stern glare. “Oh, so now that you’re back home, you’re too good to walk the dog, is that it? Alright, fine. Let’s go! Time for Trunks to meet his Uncle Bardock!”

Vegeta growled to himself almost regretting his decision to allow her to return home with him. Did she not understand how bad things were or was she just simply turning a blind eye to it all?

**_No, you’re just being a grouch._** She replied.

The four adults and Aro headed into the palace. Kakarott and Bulma filled Chi-Chi in on many things inside the palace, as Vegeta was stewing silently to himself, not in the mood for any conversation. Chi-Chi seemed stunned by the beauty and elaborateness of everything. Bulma smiled, remembering feeling overwhelmed by it all the first time as well.

She started somewhat when Vegeta suddenly put an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him as they walked down the halls of the palace. **_Stay close._**

She smiled to herself, feeling the butterflies in her stomach flutter giddily in excitement as he discreetly caressed her lower back with his thumb. She really hoped that she could get her hands on that shot again as soon as they got to the lab. She was nearly bursting at the seams with desire and knew that Vegeta was as well. The past several weeks he had been almost unbearably miserable. She knew it had to do with the stress of returning here, but still, she knew he missed the physical aspect of their relationship as much as she did. Sure they had done plenty of fooling around, but it still wasn’t the same.

They finally made their way into the science wing and entered the lab. There, as usual, was the older Saiyan, a nearly carbon copy of his son to Chi-Chi’s astonishment, engrossed in some project or another.

He suddenly looked up from his project at the crew that had just walked into his lab and dropped the small metal tool that was in his hand. He frowned in confusion. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he did a double take.

“Kakarott?” he finally asked, walking around the large work table of his to see if this was real or a figment of his imagination.

“Father,” Kakarott nodded.

“Is it really you?” he asked dumbfounded. “And Bulma.”

“Bardock!” Bulma chirped, handing Vegeta Trunks and wrapping her arms around the large older Saiyan.

He frowned in confusion, unsure whether or not to return the unfamiliar gesture. “My Prince,” he nodded awkwardly at Vegeta, trying to greet his prince with the proper respect while having Bulma’s arms wrapped around his neck like a vice grip. He recovered after a moment, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her away from him so that he could look at her properly; it was definitely her.

He nodded. “It is wonderful to see you.” He said and looked at his son again. “Both of you. I had hoped for so long that you had managed to escape the explosion. I held on hope for months before resigning myself that you had both perished. How did you do it?”

“Well, we couldn’t have done it without you warning me,” Kakarott said. “I’ll fill you in later on, but there’s two people I am dying for you to meet first.”

Chi-Chi stepped forward and smiled shyly at the man who looked like a very handsome, older version of her husband. The resemblance was uncanny. The only difference was he had a scar on his face and had a more mature-looking demeanor about him than Kakarott did. She nodded inwardly, relieved that at least she knew her husband would age nicely.

“This is Chi-Chi,” Kakarott said proudly to his father. “She is my mate and actually a friend of Bulma’s from their planet, but I’ll fill you in on that later on too.”

“You are a human as well?” Bardock asked, looking at the petite brunette with interest.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I hope that’s alright.”

Bardock smiled warmly at her. “So long as you can tolerate my son’s boyishness and keep him well fed, it is fine by me. And who is this?” he asked, referring to the infant in her arms.

“That is our son, Goten,” Kakarott proudly announced.

Chi-Chi held Goten out for Bardock to look at. He had woken up just a few minutes ago while they had been on their way to the science wing. Thankfully he hadn’t started crying yet.

“So I have a grandson and a daughter-in-law all this time that I had no knowledge of,” he smirked. “I am happy to meet the both of you.”

“And you too,” Chi-Chi said to him. “I have heard a lot about you.”

Bardock frowned at his son. “Why did you not contact me sooner?”

“We couldn’t.” Kakarott replied, looking to Bulma for support. “We thought it would endanger you and weren’t sure there was a way to go about it without being tracked down. We decided since everyone thought we were dead it was better off that way for the time being and to worry about contacting everyone later on.”

“Do you have any idea the grief your mother has been in? For her sake alone, you should have found a way.” he scolded his son.

Kakarott looked at the ground awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Oops?”

Bardock shook his head at his younger son. “That will be a battle you will have to fight on your own, I am afraid.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “We’ll go see her tonight if that’s alright. I need some place for Chi-Chi and Goten to stay. I was hoping with you guys until I figured something out.”

Bardock nodded. “Take it up with your mother, but I have no issue with it,” he said, winking at Chi-Chi. “And what do we have here? I never thought the day would come where I would see my own crowned Prince carrying an infant,” He said walking up to Vegeta who was still holding a sleeping Trunks.

“Especially since the last time I saw either of you, his highness was completely opposed to the idea of having any children, ever.” He said with a smirk, looking at Bulma.

“Well, that shot you gave me kind of wore out by the time Vegeta and I were reunited and I didn’t know where else to get it and so here’s Trunks.” Bulma fumbled somewhat awkwardly.

Bardock looked at the sleeping baby and smiled. “My goodness you will have to catch me up on all of this.”

“We will.” Kakarott said.

Aro leaned forward cautiously in an effort to sniff this new person. Bardock glanced at him briefly before stepping away from Vegeta, Bulma and Trunks to get a better look at Kakarott almost as though he were afraid the young man in front of him was nothing more than an apparition and not his youngest son. He smiled at him and it was easy to see the man was holding back a tremendous amount of emotion.

He slapped his son on the shoulder in an affectionate manner. “I am so happy that you are alive and well.”

Bulma glanced at Vegeta briefly and her heart nearly broke for him.

She knew he was hiding it, and well, but she could tell as they watched Bardock’s interaction with his son and enthusiasm in knowing that he lived and of meeting the new additions to their family from the sidelines that he wished his own father had displayed even an ounce of gladness for his return the way Bardock was for his son.

**_Hey,_** she said to him, taking his hand and lacing her fingers with his. **_I’m sure he’s more than relieved that you’re back. Even_ _if he won’t show it, he has to be glad._**

**_Right._** He replied sarcastically with a bitter tone.

**_Well, to be fair to him, you were acting kind of pompous and arrogant when we arrived._ **

**_I cannot appear to be weak or to have grown soft in my absence._** He argued.

**_Alright, but give it some time. You don’t know what’s been going on over here since the last time we were here. For all you know he has been grieving over your loss all this time and just like you, he does not want to appear to be weak in front of you or his peers either._ **

**_Perhaps,_** he said back to her. “Bardock, I will leave you with your family. I must prepare for dinner with my father,”

“Of course, my prince!” Bardock replied stepping up quickly to him. “Where are my manners?”

“Worry not,” he said. “Enjoy your evening. Kakarott has much to fill you in on.”

“I cannot wait. Make sure you and Bulma are settled in with young Trunks and do honor us with your presence at my place for a meal.”

“I will make it a priority, Bardock,” Vegeta nodded at the older Saiyan. “However may I ask an immediate favor of you?”

“Anything, my prince.”

“Make the woman barren again.” he said dryly, however the slight reddening in his cheeks was notable.

“Vegeta!” Bulma exclaimed in embarrassment.

Bardock grinned and chuckled knowingly at the young couple.

-0-0-0-

After all was said and done and they said their goodbyes, Bardock, Kakarott and Chi-Chi decided to head outside of the palace to meet Penolope, Kakarott’s mother. Apparently Raditz was around as well and Bardock called him on his scouter, cryptically letting him know that dinner elsewhere besides with them was nonnegotiable.

Chi-Chi was very nervous to meet this extended family she had heard so much about before, however so far Bardock had been exactly as everyone had told her he would be like. She really liked him so far and was thankful that he wasn’t anywhere near as abrasive as Vegeta’s father seemed to be.

Bulma, and Vegeta exited the science lab and made their way down to the Royal Wing in an attempt to settle in somewhat.

“You sure they’ll still have your room?” Bulma asked him.

“Of course!” Vegeta replied in irritation.

“Well you haven’t been here in forever.” She said. “What if it’s a baby room now for the new prince?”

“The _new_ prince will still be residing in the nursery which is down the hall but if anyone else is staying in _my_ room, I will be throwing them out the door.”

Bulma snickered at him and they made it the rest of the way through the palace in silence until they made it to the Royal Wing. Several servants and guards stopped in their tracks in confusion at their presence, but all greeted them warmly.

As Vegeta expected, his room was still his room. The only changes that had been made was that the furniture had been covered by large white sheets to protect everything from the dust.

Bulma handed Trunks to Vegeta and opened the doors to the balcony to let some air into the stuffy room and began to remove some of the sheets off the tables and couches in the sitting room. She couldn’t help but fight back the feeling of nostalgia. The last time she had been in this room had been just after Vegeta had killed Zarbon for trying to violate her. He had come here to clean himself up before taking her away to his island and they had consummated their union. The feeling of panic and dread returned as she remembered that night and the events and weeks leading up to it.

“Leave the sheets. I will send for servants to prepare the room.” He said to her, as he looked around.

“I don’t mind doing it, Vegeta,” She said, heading back out to the balcony and shaking out one of the sheets and watching the dust float into the atmosphere. “I need to do something to keep me distracted and not worry about dinner with your father.”

“It will be fine.” He said to her, coming up close behind her.

“I know, I’m just nervous. He’s not happy that you came here with us and I know I wanted to come with you but I just feel like we don’t belong here,” she sighed, folding the sheet.

“You belong here just as I do.” He said.

“No, I don’t,” she shook her head. “You belong here. Trunks and I don’t. I don’t know what I was thinking when I got upset at you for not wanting to bring us.”

“Stop berating yourself,” He said in a harsher tone than he meant to. “It will not be easy. My father will make our lives difficult but we already knew that. What were you thinking would happen when we returned, hmm? That he would have changed his mind and welcomed us with open arms and invite us in for a tea party?”

She shrugged. “No, I knew he would be a jerk, but I guess I was hoping for you that maybe he would have shown some rejoicing at your return.”

“Not so long as I came here with you,” he said.

“It’s not me that I worry so much about though. I can take it. It’s you that I worry about. It can’t be easy to know your father hates me so much and he’ll take that out on you.”

“Let him. So long as he does not harm you or Trunks I do not care what he thinks.”

“I don’t believe that,” she said, taking Trunks back from him. “Everyone wants their parents’ approval; even if it’s only a little. I felt so bad for you earlier back in the lab. Bardock was so happy that Kakarott lived and came home. He didn’t say much, but I could tell he was so overcome with gladness over it. I knew your father wouldn’t be happy over you bringing me and Trunks, but he could have at least shown some happiness at your return. You’re still his son.”

“You forget that Saiyans do not show such emotions,” He said firmly.

“But Bardock-”

“Bardock and his family are not typical. My father will not show any emotion but distain at my return. I am the son that left and did not return for want of a bed slave. That is all he sees.”

“But you still returned,” she argued. “You could have just not returned at all and he could have spent his life worrying and wondering what ever happened to you.”

“That is not how he sees it. Leave it alone, Bulma,” he said, walking back into his room. “He will not change his mind. It is his mission in life to make my life miserable.”

“He just wants what’s best for you,” she suggested. “I’m obviously not what’s best. That’s why he’s upset.”

“You are over simplifying things.”

“Alright, but still. Even if he shows nothing but contempt, he’s still probably happy that you’re back home.” She continued.

Vegeta shrugged. “Whatever. Try and settle in. Dinner will be in an hour or so. I will send for someone to straighten this place out before this evening.” He headed back into the room and into the bedroom.

Bulma sighed and followed him. She pulled out a capsule and tossed it on the ground in the living room decapsulating Aro’s crate, bed and food supplies.

The shepherd walked into his crate, sniffing it eagerly and then exited it again.

Vegeta reappeared, handing her a capsule. “These are the rest of your things from before.”

“Oh, awesome!” she exclaimed, taking it from him and handing Trunks to him. She threw the capsule on the ground and out popped two suitcases. She opened up one of them and shrieked in excitement as she rifled through the bag, sorting through her old clothes in delight.

She held up a little black dress she had all but forgotten she’d had. “Can I change into one of these other outfits for dinner?”

Vegeta shrugged. “It makes no difference to me.”

She rolled her eyes at him and tossed another capsule on the ground, decapsulating Trunks’ crib and play pen.

Vegeta placed the infant in the play pen, and looked at him. He had been surprisingly quiet all afternoon, he mused. “What are we to do with him?” he asked.

“Can’t we bring him with us?” she asked, still sorting through the suitcase.

“I suppose so, however it will only make my father more irritated than he already is.” He sighed.

“Well we can’t leave him here unattended and there isn’t anyone you trust here to watch over him, is there?”

“No,”

“Well, then he’ll have to come with us,” She shrugged. “Your father has to get used to the idea of him some time.”

Vegeta nodded.

“I don’t think I can fit into most of these anymore,” she said sadly.

Vegeta smirked at her. “Make sure you feed the boy before we go.”

“I will.” She said absent mindedly. “Do you like this one?” she asked holding up another dress.

“It makes no difference to me,” he sighed. “Wear what you like.”

She put everything down and came up to him. “Sorry. I’m just really excited to get some of my old clothes back.”

He smirked at her. “Get dressed.”

“You okay?”

“I am fine,” he said, grabbing his scouter. “Get yourself ready. I will arrange someone to prepare this place for our stay.”

Bulma nodded at him and grabbed two of her favorite long-lost dresses. She hoped she could squeeze into them again. Her bust had almost doubled in size since she’d had Trunks.

She decided to darken her makeup just a little bit, adding some black eyeliner to her top eyelids and a raspberry color for her lipstick. She left her hair down and tried on one of her dresses. The first one was black satin. It still fit, but in the top it looked like her breasts were about to pop out. It didn’t look bad, she decided, but it was very uncomfortable and definitely not the impression she wanted to make. Though she was pleased how her body looked and a few years would have only dreamed of having this much cleavage available to display she thought with a smile.

She quickly changed into the other dress. It was also black. It had a cowl neckline with spaghetti straps on it. It showed off her cleavage nicely but not outrageously like the other one had. It fit snug down the length of her body and flared out at her hips in a subtle A line. It was all in all a simple little black dress. Elegant but not over the top and she decided to go with it. Now if only she could find a pair of heels, she would look perfect.

“What do you think about this one?” she asked, stepping out of the bathroom. “It’s not too much?”

He looked at her and cracked a brief smile and nodded. “You look more than adequate.”

She rolled her eyes at him and his lack of description and decided that she would wear this one. “So do you,” she said, noticing that he had quickly changed into his royal armor.

She rifled through her luggage bag and found a pair of strappy black sandals that weren’t too high but dressy enough; she tossed them to the side and packed up all her things before grabbing Trunks to feed him before they left.

Once she was done, she tucked him up in his little baby carrier and went to find Vegeta who was brooding by himself on the balcony. “Hey, Trunks is ready to go. Can you do me up?”

Vegeta turned to look at her; she was standing beside him, but her back was to him and the back of her dress needed to be zipped up and fastened at the top. He took in the flawless, creamy skin of her back and growled at her; she had left the back of her dress nearly completely undone on purpose just to taunt him. That was alright, he mused. He would get her back for it later on.

He did up the back of her dress, brushing her hair to the side, exposing the back of her neck to him. He brushed his lips against her skin and gently nipped her instead of kissing her like she had anticipated.

“Ow,” she whined, turning around and giving him a mock scowl.

Vegeta shrugged innocently at her as though he did not understand what the problem was and left the balcony. He moved Aro’s crate so that it was out of the way, but next to the open balcony door so that he could get a comfortable breeze but wasn’t in the sun and put him away into his crate just as there had been a knock at the door.

“We are here to prepare your room, your highness,” a short, stocky housekeeper said; with her were two other middle aged women that he recognized.

“Excellent,” Vegeta nodded, letting them in. “We will be back in about an hour or so. Never mind the dog, he is fine where he is; he will not bother you. Everything else is to be put back to the way it was before.”

“Yes, your Highness,” they said, looking at Bulma with interest.

“Thank you,” she said to them, picking up Trunks’ carrier. She had capsulated his crib and accessories so they would not be in the way and she still was not sure where she wanted to put him yet. In the same room as theirs, or keep him in a separate room like he was used to and set him up in the living room right outside their bedroom?

One of the maids approached Bulma cautiously, wanting to take a peek at the infant. Bulma smiled and obliged her. “His name is Trunks,” she said proudly.

“You did not name him after his highness?” one of the other maids asked curiously.

“No,” she shook her head. “We decided on a new name for him.”

The three women looked at baby Trunks cautiously but with interest. “Forgive us, your highness,” the eldest said nervously, addressing Vegeta. “But it is good to have you and Miss Bulma back with us again. Congratulations on the birth of your heir.”

“Thank you.” Vegeta replied awkwardly and then the three women disbursed and began working to prepare the room. He usually never spoke with his staff other than to give them orders or instructions. That they seemed so eager about his return surprised him. That they had even remembered Bulma and her name for that matter surprised him even more. He shrugged and looked at her.

“I’m ready to go, are you?” she asked him nervously, her stomach beginning to churn again.

He nodded and opened the door. **_You have your device turned on for both Trunks and yourself?_**

**_Yup._** She said. She had a beautiful, delicate pendant that could protect her from a ki blast and one for Trunks as well, though it was hidden under his sleeper so that no one would know he was wearing it.

They walked just a few feet down the hallway to where the private dining room for the royal family was located. There was one guard stationed outside the door. “Your father and the queen are expecting you,” he said.

Vegeta simply nodded and walked in, Bulma nervously following closely behind him into the huge private dining room. It was as elegant and as extravagant as was the rest of the palace with its white walls and pillars with dramatic drapings of crimson red and royal blue. 

**_I have not dined in this room since before my mother passed._** Vegeta thought as he looked around the room quickly, noting the changes. No longer was the portrait of the royal family of his father, mother and himself as a young boy on the wall and gone was a magnificent portrait of his mother, the former queen, for obvious reasons now that his father had taken another mate; however its absence troubled him. The walls were free from any portraits or picturesque wall hangings of any kind besides the blue and red silk drapes. He cringed inwardly when he saw his father at the head of the unnecessarily long table with Asia at his right. 

Bulma, however sighed in relief that it was just the two of them and not any of the other advisors and council members to add to the uncomfortableness of the situation. 

They both approached the end of the table to where they would be sitting; Bulma hung back a few feet away from Vegeta to place Trunks' baby carrier on a chair next to where she decided to sit. 

She looked at Vegeta in question and he nodded at her, taking a seat himself at his father's left. He acknowledged his father with nothing more than a nod and watched Bulma as she settled herself in on the seat next to him. 

"Hello," she murmured nervously, offering them her most courteous smile, but it was not returned. 

She turned from them and their stern gaze before she said something rude and smiled at Vegeta instead.  

There was a long awkward silence and Bulma was beginning to feel more and more ill at ease as the seconds dragged on nor did she miss the way Asia was looking at Vegeta. 

She was looking almost longingly at him. Like she was sitting across from her long lost love after many, many years and now here he was, but she had not waited faithfully for him and was now feeling the sting of regret with the knowledge that she was stuck with someone she shouldn't have been meant to be with. Bulma dismissed her feelings of animosity though. Try as she might, she could not hate on the girl. If she was trapped in a horrible marriage then that was not something for Bulma to be glad over. No one deserved that. 

The only thing that bothered her was the blatantly obvious way she was ogling Vegeta. Right in front of her own mate and in front of her! 

Bulma kept her thoughts to herself and remained silent. However the silence in the room was almost deafening; she could not stand it and wished she had at least brought her mother with them. Her mother was a mastermind at diffusing awkward and unpleasant situations. Unfortunately, Bulma had never acquired the skill. 

Thankfully, a servant walked into the room and poured everyone a glass of red wine. 

"Thank you," Bulma said without even thinking. 

"Slaves are not to be thanked for doing their jobs." the King said, giving both Bulma and the slave a harsh glare. The slave curtsied awkwardly and quickly left the room.

Bulma held in a heavy sigh and eye roll to herself as she reached for her glass of wine. Apparently it was going to be a long night. At least she had some wine, she thought to herself.

**_Do not overdo it._** Vegeta cautioned her.

**_I'll try not to,_** she replied jokingly to him. **_Worst case scenario you can take advantage of me later on and I'll let you do anything you want to me._**

**_Enough,_** he growled at her.

"So, when did the two of you decide to get together?" she asked casually, trying to start a civil conversation as she took a small sip of her wine. She remembered now how strong the wine was here. She would have to remember to nurse her drink or she would be tipsy in no time, unless the food came right away. "Congratulations."

"It is not your place or even any of your business to inquire of such things. You forget your place." the King said to her with a glare. "You may have managed to ensnare my son but I have not forgotten that you are nothing more than a bed slave."

"You will not speak to my mate that way," Vegeta said to his father in an even tone despite his anger at his father's blatant disrespect. He wasn't surprised, but at least Bulma was putting in an effort to be polite and make this a pleasant meeting. "She may not be Saiyan, but you will treat her with respect."

"I do not respect your choice," the King said nonchalantly. "Therefore I am in no way bound nor obligated to show respect to that which I deem unworthy of it.

"My dear, you would command my full respect should you do right by my son and leave," he said looking pointedly at Bulma. "Take the half breed you feel the need to tote around everywhere with you as consolation; I will allow you that kindness and consideration rather than putting him down as common sense dictates I should. I will grant this to you by means of respect and overlooking my son's poor judgments." 

Bulma clenched her teeth together but smiled despite the painful thought of anything happening to Trunks. She took a sip of wine in an effort to calm her nerves; Vegeta's tail made its way comfortingly onto her lap.

"Bulma will not be going anywhere and neither will my son." he said looking at his father. 

Bulma brushed the tip of his tail with her thumb, the simple, but private gesture from him flooding her with comfort. 

"I returned here at your request." Vegeta said, changing the subject. 

"Yes, I requested that you return," his father agreed. "However I also requested that you leave the girl behind should you decide to return."

"Enough. I did not return or agree to dine with you and discuss your displeasure over my choice in mate. That topic is off limits." 

Before Vegeta could say anything more, several servants came in carrying several trays of food and set them down in the center of the table, lining them down the length of the table. If Bulma did not know any better she would have thought they were at a buffet. 

"Let us eat," Vegeta's father said, though there was still an abrasive edge to his voice. "We shall discuss business afterwards."

Vegeta nodded in agreement, standing up to get some food for himself. 

Bulma reached to take his plate in an effort to serve him the first portion of his meal, as she customarily always did for him, however he picked it up himself, out of her grasp and subtly shook his head at her. 

The King snorted at the exchange. "It would seem your woman has not forgotten her place after all or has she completely domesticated you?"

"I am sorry, your highness," Bulma cut in before Vegeta had the chance. "But in my culture it is not uncommon for the female spouse to fill her mate's plate for him. I can assure you it was merely a gesture of respect. Vegeta is certainly more than capable of helping himself."

"I should hope so," the King scoffed. "While every man wishes to be waited in hand and foot bye their woman it is a travesty for him to be coddled by his mate."

Bulma simply nodded, not daring to comment any further. She couldn't help but notice Asia smirking at her. What a disaster this was. She felt like she couldn't win. Would he have a cutting remark about everything she did?

_Vegeta was right_ , she thought to herself. As usual she hadn't listened to him. She should have stayed back on Callisto. 

**_No, I am glad you are here._** Vegeta said to her. **_I need you here._**  

**_Do you really? Why so that he can berate me in front of you?_** She said angrily. **_And why are you just sitting here taking this from him? He isn't even trying to be nice._**

**_I am doing as you said, and not pissing anyone off._ **

**_And that means letting him disrespect me and Trunks?_ **

**_I have changed my tactic,_** he said as he finished piling a massive amount of food on his plate. **_You said something earlier when we arrived here. I cannot come in here as though this is still my home. I will allow him to speak his say for the time being._**

**_Great. At my expense._ **

**_Only for now. Do not worry. He is behaving exactly as I knew he would. He is only making what I will need to eventually do that much easier._** He said.

**_I thought you didn't want to appear weak in front of him._ **

**_You are right, I do not. But as it stands, I can take him out any time I want; I have by far surpassed him many times over.  I will tolerate this and let him think he has the upper hand. Once I figure out what the full situation is going on here with him, the council and King Cold, I will make my move against him._** Vegeta said, digging into his meal. **_Bear with me._**

**_Alright._** She said, sighing inwardly as she finished serving her plate with a small portion and sat back down.

Dinner continued on in the most tension riddled, awkward fashion. It did not take long for Bulma to finish her helping. She was far too stressed out to eat any more than she had. Her stomach was lurching and she felt nauseated despite the delicious meal that was spread out before them. She sat quietly, politely picking at the few remnants on her plate as Vegeta, his father and Asia helped themselves to extra servings.

“Is that all you are going to eat, girl?” King Vegeta asked her with a disapproving frown. “No wonder you look unhealthy. Son, does she not eat?”

Vegeta smirked as Bulma frowned at him. “She eats as much as she requires,” he said. “There were many humans where we have resided these past months and I have discovered that humans do not consume nearly as much as we do in a single sitting. I can assure you, she eats plenty and is healthy in terms of what is normal for her race.”

Silence once again enveloped the four of them and it wasn't long before Trunks began to fuss, most likely picking up on both his parents stressful energy signatures.

"Does the child not know how to settle himself?" the King asked in annoyance.

"He's just a baby," Bulma said to him coolly, turning to check on Trunks. She wasn't sure if she should pick him up or not, for fear of getting yet another negative, cutting remark. She respected Vegeta's decision, but it was wearing on her nerves. She was trying so hard to behave and not say anything in retaliation. 

She gave Trunks a piece of fruit to suck on that reminded her of watermelon. His motor skills already were pretty impressive. He smiled and happily began to chew on the piece of fruit. She hoped this would keep him happy until it was time for them to go.

"You don't bring your baby out with you?" Bulma asked Asia, once again trying for a civil conversation. 

"No, he remains in the nursery." she said, watching Trunks as he happily gummed the fruit and looked around the room wide-eyed, taking everything in.

"Children this age are of no use and nothing more than a nuisance. Until he may sit in a civilized manner at the table and not be a bother, he shall remain there." the King clarified, glaring at the infant in disgust. "Son, are you sure that brat is even yours? He has more the look of his mother in him and hardly resembles you at all. Saiyan traits, even among half breeds, almost always dominate any other gene.”

"Of course I am sure he is mine!" Vegeta snarled.

"How dare you!" Bulma exclaimed, getting up to pick up Trunks. She unwrapped him from the white blanket he was tucked inside and loosened his pants somewhat. "Not that it's any of your business, but here," she ranted, hoisting up Trunks over her shoulder revealing his tail. "He may not have typical dark features or an acidic personality like you, but he has a tail. I'd say that's pretty damning evidence of his paternity, your highness. Vegeta, I am going back to the room. I don't care if you stay here or come with me, but I cannot stay here." 

She wrapped Trunks back up in his blanket and carefully tucked him back into his carrier. "Asia, it was a pleasure seeing you again and I am sure I will see you again in the very near future," she said to the other woman, smiling cordially at her. "Your Highness." she said to the king, giving him a quick curtsy in a mock show of respect. She downed the rest of her glass of wine as though it were a shot and picked up Trunks' carrier.

**_You can stay if you want, don't feel obligated to follow, I'll be fine. It’s only a few feet, I have my pendant turned on. If anyone bugs me I'll let you know. I'm going to bed._** She said, trying to keep her tone even and not sound as hurt and dejected as she really did. After all, she had been expecting this. However, a small part of her had been hoping that the king would at least try and play nice in front of her for the sake of his son. In the end she really didn't care what he thought of her, but it was his comments about Trunks that hurt her. 

"I will come with you," Vegeta said, pushing his plate away, glaring at his father. "We will discuss our differences in the morning."

The king shook his head in disgust. "My office, first thing in the morning. Leave the woman and that thing you insist on calling your son behind. I will not continue to go along with this farce and neither will you."

"Count yourself fortunate that my mate and child are present," Vegeta said dryly. "Even then, the only reason you are still breathing is because you are kin and I am not wanting the hassle of taking the throne at this time. Do not mistake my leniency this evening for weakness. I am simply biding time; your days are numbered. In the meantime, if anything unfortunate happens to Bulma or Trunks, whether or not an accident befalls them or they happen to become mysteriously ill, I will hold you personally responsible and you will see and experience firsthand how powerful I have really become." He warned; the quiet yet deadly tone in his voice actually sending a wave of fear through the king.

"Noted." The King said, nodding at his son and small family. 

"Good." Was all Vegeta said as he left to follow Bulma back to their room. He had to leave before he did something stupid. 

"Well that was fun," Asia said as the door closed behind Vegeta with a loud slam. "What now?"

King Vegeta sat there a moment in deep contemplation. He had known his son would be stubborn where the blue haired woman was concerned. He did not understand it and now his son was trapped. It had not escaped his notice that they indeed did seen to share a bond. He could tell they had been silently conversing between themselves. 

"What do you mean, 'what now'?" he asked her with a frown of annoyance. He had completely forgotten she was even there.

"Well, he showed up with Bulma and has a kid," she replied irritably. "There's not much you can do about that; and even I can tell he's quite a bit stronger since the last time he was here."

"Of course he's stronger, you nit wit." he growled, drinking back his wine and re filling his glass. "And don't you think for a moment that I did not notice you ogling him from across the table the way you were. That is no way for a queen to behave."

"Forgive me, your highness." she said, looking down at her plate. She hadn't thought she had made herself that obvious but she could not help but stare at him; he had matured and changed so much since she had seen him last. She had always thought him to be extremely handsome and if the past year had done anything to him, it had made him even more desirable to her, not that there was anything she could do about it now.

She was stuck mated to the King himself and even if that weren't the case, Vegeta seemed very committed to Bulma. When she had heard that he would be returning, she had hoped he would have heeded his father's council and not return with Bulma. She had hoped that he would leave her wherever the hell they had been all this time and come home, get rid of his father and then take her as his mate. She had even entertained the idea that he would have been driven mad with jealousy once he learned that she belonged to his father, the thought that he had missed out on having her to himself too much to bear. Unfortunately, he had barely acknowledged her, much to her disappointment. "I meant no disrespect."

"Do not let me catch you again." 

Asia nodded and quickly finished her dinner in silence next to her mate.

After a few minutes, the king reached for an unopened bottle of wine and got up from the table to leave.

“Will you be returning to our suite for the night?” Asia asked him hopefully.

“No,” he answered and left her there alone.

Asia sat there, seething to herself for several minutes, though embraced the silence. This evening had not gone well for any of them. She had hoped that perhaps the king may seek her out for solace this evening, but apparently not.

She reached for the bottle of wine and refilled her glass, deciding to finish it off by herself.

-0-0-0-

"I was proud of you," Vegeta said to Bulma as they entered his quarters. They were clean and dust free much to Bulma’s amazement. They could not have even been gone a full hour and it looked and smelled as good as new.

"What? For sticking up for myself?" she said, annoyance still radiating off in her tone. "Someone had to; you certainly weren't." 

"Bulma," he said coming up behind her. 

"Its fine," she sighed. "Go back and have dinner with him. You haven't seen him in a long time. I realize this can't be easy for either of you. I'm sorry for reacting the way that I did."

"Your response was not uncalled for." he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Any Saiyan female would have reacted the same or worse."

"But I'm not Saiyan," she sighed. "And he could have blasted me. I guess I'm lucky."

"I would not allow it," he murmured against her hair, taking in her scent. "I would sense it before it happened and I would end him before he would even have the chance to raise his hand."

She closed her eyes and leaned back into him. "I don't want it to come to that though; it shouldn't have to come to that."

"If it does, it does," he said. "It is his decision."

She nodded, deep in thought for a few minutes as she pulled herself together. "Go back, and finish having dinner with him, I'll stay here with Trunks. Maybe have a hot bath and go to bed."

"No, he can wait until tomorrow," Vegeta said, his hand sliding up the length of her body and to her arm, his fingers dancing up her bare arm, making her shiver. 

"It's the right thing for you to do,"

"That may be, but I would much rather remain here," he said, continuing to rub his hand sensually up and down her arm. "I need you."

His voice was low and full of promise for what was to come. She rested her cheek against his. "He's going to be mad though," she said, trying to keep her thoughts focused on the issue at hand and not let him and his wandering hands distract her. "We've had lots of time together in the last few months, after Frieza I had you all to myself; I'll feel selfish if you stay here now. That's all he's going to think; that I'm keeping you away from him. He already hates me for not leaving you."

"That is his problem. He will need to get used to the fact that he does not command my undivided attention and I am not at his beck and call. He can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I need you." he said convincingly. 

"I know, me too." she whispered. 

"Then put the brat to bed," he sighed against her neck, she could feel his lashes and breath skimming the side of her cheek and neck as he loomed behind her, undoing the back of her dress.

"Let me see what I can do," she teased, turning her face towards him. "I need to set up Trunks and then I'm all yours." 

She decapsulated the capsule with Trunks’ crib and began setting up the blankets which was not an easy task with Vegeta hovering over her, breathing down her neck and touching her. “Could you not for a minute?” she asked irritably, handing Trunks to him. “I’ll get done this a whole lot faster if you’d keep those hands of yours to yourself.”

He stopped and frowned at her but took a step back, holding his son and watched her. She nearly started to giggle at his childish pouting. She was finished in just a few minutes and took Trunks back, tucking him in carefully.

“There,” she said, turning around to look at the impatient Saiyan behind her. He had his arms crossed and had a scowl etched on his face looking very unimpressed with her. “Now, what was it you wanted? I can’t seem to recall but you have my undivided attention now, my prince.”

“Ha!” he growled taking two large steps up to her, picking her up and hoisting her over his shoulder.

She laughed at him and did not struggle against his hold on her. It had been so long!

He plunked her down on his bed and before she had a chance to comment, his mouth was already on hers kissing her urgently. He pushed her down on the bed; his hands already groping her breasts through her dress. He hiked up the hem around her waist and reached for her panties, tearing them off and down the length of her long legs.

“Hey!” she objected.

“Hmmn,” he growled. “I do believe you said I could do whatever I wished with you.”

“Did I say that?”

“You did.”

“That’s right, I did; but that was _if_ I was drunk,” she said. “I’m not drunk, unfortunately. The evening would have been so much more bearable if I had been.”

“You did not state the stipulations, woman.” He said, standing up to remove his armor and clothing finally.

Bulma stood up and managed to undo her dress the rest of the way, letting it fall onto the floor. She backed herself up further on the bed and looked at him. “Well?”

He smirked at her briefly before pouncing on to the bed in pursuit of her. “I shall take you now however which way it pleases me.” He said, grabbing her ankle and pulling her closer to him.

She giggled at him as she reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He took her hands away from around his neck and placed them above her head, binding her wrists together with one of his hands. He chuckled at her, knowing she hated it when he did that. She loved to touch him and run her hands along his toned body; she hated it when he denied her that freedom. She was at his mercy.

With his other hand he parted her legs, exposing her center to him. He probed her with two of his fingers, inserting them inside her, stroking her insides slowly. She hooked a leg around his hip, trying to draw him closer to her and get him to finally enter her. The last several weeks they had only fooled around. It had been like constant foreplay. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.

He withdrew his fingers and quickly pushed his hardened length inside of her urgently rather than wasting any more time teasing her.

They both gasped at the feeling of being joined together again and he began to move into her quickly, not stopping to savor the contact; lust and need had overcome them both in that moment.

He bent down and kissed her as he drove himself into her almost frantically.

She wrapped both legs around his waist and arched her body up and against him in an effort to meet his every thrust; throwing her head back against the mattress and savoring every wonderful sensation he gave her with every push of his hips against hers; the feelings of pleasure shooting through her body so intensely she thought she would burst at any given moment.

Vegeta nipped her collar bone before making his way up to her neck, nipping, licking and kissing her along her neck and jaw until he met her lips. She opened her mouth to him and sucked on his tongue. He let one of her hands go then, lacing his fingers through one of her hands and let his other hand slide behind her, bringing her hips up, elevating her somewhat so that he could push himself deeper into her.

Her other arm clung to him; around his shoulders, down his back until she was able to reach for his tail.

He growled into her mouth as she squeezed it lightly, almost playfully and let it slide through her fingers. His pace increased, pushing them both closer to the edge, she let it go once its length had slipped through her hand and buried her fingers into his hair.

They both came together, moments later, shuddering against one another in the aftermath of their release. After so long without a complete union between them, it had been an intense welcomed relief to them both.

He rested his forehead against hers, catching his breath.

**_I love you,_** she said, still trembling from the after effect of her orgasm.

He looked down at her and kissed her; chastely at first and then gradually deepened it.

She raked her hands through his hair as she kissed him back. **_I am so afraid, Vegeta._**

He continued to kiss her and began to move inside her again, slowly, letting her know that he wanted her again. **_Forget about it,_** he said as he carefully rolled them over so that she was now on top of him. **_Tonight you are mine._**

-0-0-0-

Asia finally stocked out of the dining room and made her way down the hall a few doors down from the dining room; she wanted to see her son. As she passed Vegeta's room, she thought briefly about knocking but the elevated energy she picked up from him indicated that he was preoccupied. She scrunched her nose in disgust at the thought and kept going.

_Why?_ She wondered bitterly. _What was so special about Bulma?_ Sure she was beautiful, but she was weak and frail. Not only that, but she'd given him a child. She should have been old news by now. Used goods. Wasn't that what she was now? She thought in bitterness. King Vegeta seemed to barely be able to stand the thought of looking at her, never mind touching her. Not since he had learned she carried his new heir and still after over three months later he wouldn't have anything to do with her. He'd rather squander his time with the whores in his harem than give her the time of day. 

She hated him. 

The only good thing that had come out of their union had been Tarble and he didn't even have time for him. It hurt her. She hadn't thought he would become the most attentive mate and doting father over night with the birth of this new heir. But she had hoped it would strengthen their union. She had after all given him a son. That had to count for something, didn't it?

Instead, all she heard about was how different from Vegeta her son was. How at this age Vegeta was already doing this or that and was this much larger and had twice the energy level when he was born. It sickened her. The only comment the king had said this evening to Bulma that how annoyed he was about the child not fending for himself. Bulma was right: he was just a baby. And his son was no different. Just as fussy and helpless and he was only a few weeks younger than Trunks from what she had gathered. 

Not only that, but Trunks was much stronger already than her son. She knew that wouldn't have escaped the king's notice. 

Asia dismissed the nurse maid as she entered her son's room. He was already asleep. She leaned forward over the crib and picked him up, cradling him close to her before sitting down next to his crib. 

It didn't matter to her all that much if her son wasn't the strongest. As long as he was attractive, intelligent and strong enough to take care of himself that was all that mattered to her. She knew that her mate would not feel the same way however. All he cared about was strength and power. That was all. 

She sat quietly with the infant in her arms, worry etched into her features. She hoped now that Vegeta was back and had an heir with a promising power level higher than then Tarble's he wouldn't pass him over. The thought seemed highly unlikely as he absolutely hated the thought of a half breed Saiyan grandchild tainting his royal line, however he was obsessed enough with strength that given enough time, she could see it being a possibility. She sure hoped that wasn't the reason Vegeta returned; because he wanted to put his son on the throne. She would make sure it never happened. 

_What a joke!_ She thought. _That would be the day! And Bulma better not think she's taking over my place as queen!_ Asia wasn't sure what her father's plan was. All she knew was that he had been anticipating Vegeta's return. It would not be long now and the king would be gone. She couldn't wait! Then Vegeta would be hers. Mated to Bulma or not. She was queen and had the right to take whomever she wanted. Prince Vegeta would be the only obvious choice and mated to Bulma or not, it would happen. If Bulma was lucky, she might let her stick around as Vegeta's mistress. On second thought, no. She would not be sharing him. She'd had enough of sharing her mate to last her a lifetime. 

Her life had turned into a joke. 

She hadn't been thrilled to have King Vegeta take her as his mate, but it had been what her father had wanted so she'd gone along with it. At first it hadn't been so bad. He had been alright with her advances and it hadn't taken all that long to seal the deal. The first few weeks hadn't been all that bad and she had even thought that things had worked out for the better but within a few weeks, his interest in her had begun to dwindle. She had done everything she could think of to keep his interest both in and out of their bedroom; she acted the part of attentive mate and queen, took an interest in kingdom matters and even took initiative in doing things he had no interest in but still needed to be done. Behind closed doors she had resorted to doing the most degrading acts imaginable to try and keep him entertained and still, he was disinterested. His only interest in laying with her had been to produce an heir. Once she had finally gotten pregnant, that had been that.

At first she had been relieved. She couldn't stand the thought of him touching her any more than necessary, however she was lonely as well and felt that something was better than nothing. 

The thought of finding a young Saiyan male to keep her company had crossed her mind, but not only would no one touch her because of her status as queen but she knew the king wouldn't have it. He could screw around all he wanted but she was condemned to be either with him or with no one. She wondered how the first queen had put up with him as she had. 

No, if the king finally died and she did get to finally be with the prince, she would not allow him to keep Bulma on the side. Something would have to be done about her. Something permanent. 

As she sat there scheming, a thought began to formulate in the back of her mind. She could not believe it had not occurred to her earlier. She needed a way to be rid of both Bulma and Trunks. Obviously she wasn't going to take the king's advice and take her son and leave. 

Asia smiled. It was all so simple, it scared her! She and her father and pretty much everyone else on the council wanted King Vegeta gone. The problem was, there wasn't anyone strong enough to do it. Her father had vaguely indicated to her that there was someone, but that he was not ready. That's where Vegeta came in. And how convenient that he should come home today and threaten his father should anything happen to either Bulma or Trunks. 

All they had to do was stage something, make it look like the king had arranged it and Vegeta in his angry state would take care of the rest. He could take over as king, and with Bulma out of the picture could she still be queen _and_ she would have Vegeta all to herself. He would have no choice but to take her as his mate then.

She kissed her son carefully on his forehead and smiled to herself. She just needed to be patient a little while longer and things would shortly be falling into place for her.

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Vegeta got up carefully, trying not to disturb Bulma.

He quickly showered and continued to dress for the day; he chose a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt and training pants to wear beneath his formal armor. He hadn’t missed the palace, his father, the headaches of political rubbish or really Vegeta-sei as a whole, but he had missed his royal formal armor. He wasn’t sure why, but he just did.

He finished dressing; finally pulling on his white gloves and boots before heading out and into his bedroom where Bulma sat on the end of their bed in all of her naked glory for him to see.

She smiled at him. “My, don’t you look the part of a handsome Prince this morning.”

“Hmmn.” He nodded, looking her over, taking in her soft curves and flawless complexion. In just the few months following childbirth, she looked just as radiant as ever. Her body had not changed all that much and the changes that he could see weren’t anything he would complain about.

“Did you shower?” she asked.

He frowned at her oddly and grunted affirmatively, wondering why she would ask such a strange question. Had she wanted to join him? He had opted to let her sleep since he had kept her up most of the night and when she hadn’t been giving him her full attention she’d been up with Trunks several times as well.

Bulma nodded and looked away from him awkwardly for a moment before getting up and walking towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her naked form into him, not minding the coolness of his armor against her bare skin. She kissed him hungrily.

Not caring what brought this on, he obliged her for a moment; kissing her back deeply. His father could wait a few more minutes for him this morning; he reasoned.

She continued to kiss him longingly, running her hands up and through his thick hair, and back down, lightly touching his face and traveling down along the side of his neck and resting them on his chest before she broke her lips from his and enveloped him in a full body hug and held him for a long moment before letting him go.

“Woman, what has gotten into you?” he asked in concern; never in the entirety of their relationship had she been this clingy. Not last night; not even in the days after she had regained all of her memories and all they had done was take in their fill of one another to excess, basking in each other’s nearness and the pleasure of their union.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head at him. “I just, I don’t know… I thought; I wanted to make sure-”

“I carried your scent?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded at him, now feeling silly. She knew he wasn’t interested in Asia and that he would never give even the briefest moment of his attention to her, but she couldn’t shake off her slight insecurity now that they were here and she had noticed the way the Saiyan woman had devoured him with her eyes.

He sighed and shook his head at her. “Bulma, I made my choice-”

“It’s not for you, I trust you.” She interrupted him. “It’s a reminder for _her_. I saw how she looked at you yesterday when we landed and when we had dinner and when we were leaving. She still wants you,” she explained. “I know you have no interest in her, but she does not respect that; she does not respect _me_. I cannot stand up to her physically, I know that or I would tell her myself that you are off limits. This is the only way I can think of getting my point across to her without having to actually tell her.”

“How very Saiyan-like of you,” he smirked in appreciation at her. “And just how do you think I will be able to get anything accomplished or be able to concentrate on anything while I am smelling of you all day, hmm? Very distracting.”

She shrugged. “Maybe it will motivate you to hurry back?”

“Oh, I will be back as soon as I am able.” He replied, placing his hands on her bum and hoisting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he began walking forward, towards their bed and laid her down as he began ravaging her mouth. She kissed him back eagerly, as her fingers danced downwards and began to tug at his pants eagerly. “Insatiable wench.” He growled against her mouth as she freed him of his now constricting training pants.

He entered her quickly and she gasped as he filled her completely. She arched her body against him as he began to thrust into her. She once again wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to pull him in as close as physically possible, wanting to feel every inch of him inside of her.

He plunged inside of her hard and fast, demanding everything from her. She cried out as she felt her peak rising closer and closer as they moved against one another striving for completion. The several months they hadn't coupled had brought on an almost frantic pace between them as though they were trying to catch up on lost time.

Vegeta felt her beginning to tighten around him and knew that she was very close. He slowed down his pace as he crashed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply until she came.

She moaned against his mouth as her climax took over her body. She lay there, clinging on to him as he finally spent himself inside of her; still rocking his hips against hers slowly, wanting to prolong both of their releases for as long as he could.

He rested his head on her shoulder a moment as he basked in the pleasure of his own climax before composing himself and withdrawing from her.

She giggled at him as he pulled his pants back up and adjusted himself.

He frowned at her, "Are you happy now?" He asked.

"I am, my dear Prince." She nodded. It had been ages since they'd had a quickie first thing in the morning. Though their lifestyle on Callisto and then on Tonga had been very lax. They never really needed to be anywhere.

He grunted at her and turned to leave. "You will remain here until my return. Kakarott will be bringing his mate and brat down here to keep you company and he will stay to ensure your safety. Then I will bring you to Bardock's lab for the afternoon." "Alright," she sighed, rolling back into their large bed and crawling under the sheets. Trunks was thankfully still sound asleep. She heard Vegeta let Aro out of his crate before closing the door to his suite. The Shepherd jumped up onto the bed, settling himself in next to her and within moments she drifted off into a much needed sleep before the rest of the day began for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did you all think?? Thoughts? Feelings? Loved it? Hated it? Too long? Too short? Please shoot me a review. Even if it’s just to say hi. Honestly, I grin like a fool when I get a notification on my phone that I got a review and then all my co-workers want to know what’s up. Tee hee… They have no idea!


	5. Chapter 5

**_CHAPTER 5_ **

Vegeta stormed down the hall of the royal wing on his way to go and meet his father in his office. He was not sure how to feel about it. Part of him was pumped and ready but another part of him was dreading it. After the comments and the attitude his father had displayed last night towards Bulma and Trunks, he knew that hoping for his father to change his mind and accept his choices was in vain.

He paused a moment when he reached his father’s private study room to make sure to mask any emotions that may betray him and reveal any possible weakness. Once he was sure that he was the perfect mask of indifference, he went in.

“You’re late!” his father boomed.

“You never specified the exact time,” Vegeta replied in a bored tone. Was his father really going to think he was going to sit here and allow him to talk down to him as though he was a child again? “After the disgraceful manner at which you treated my family, be lucky that you are still breathing and that I decided to even show up.”

“Do not presume to correct what you believe to be proper manners to me, boy!” He countered. “Just because you have far surpassed me in strength does not mean that you have won my respect.”

“It doesn’t? Since when, old man?” Vegeta asked in a mocking tone. “You always instructed me that strength was all that matters.”

“Strength alone cannot rule an empire.”

Vegeta nodded and snorted, “Really?”

The King narrowed his eyes at his son’s disrespectful tone and gave him a stern glare. “I have made many mistakes over the course of my rule-”

“You don’t say.” Vegeta feigned surprise.

“Do not sass me, boy!” he bellowed. “You may have far surpassed me in strength but I am still your father and more importantly _your_ King.”

Vegeta finally sat down and across the desk from his father and regarded him carefully. His father had aged quite noticeably since he had seen him last. The lines in his face and crow’s feet around his eyes had deepened; his hair was beginning to grey slightly around his hairline and sideburns. Vegeta wondered briefly how old his father had to be; he had to be in his late 50’s early 60’s by now. Saiyans didn’t keep track of their birthdays all that much, but they had a long life span and he knew that in any case, his father was much too young to be looking as aged as he was.

Father and son sat across from one another, each glaring and sizing the other up for a long time.

“So what is it you wanted to discuss with me?” Vegeta finally asked. “I am certain you did not want me down here this morning to participate in a staring contest with you.”

“I wanted to discuss many things with you,” his father said.

“Then discuss them,” Vegeta sighed. “However the topic of Bulma and my son is off limits. I have nothing to say to you with regards to them and you have no opinion on them either.”

“They will never accept them, Vegeta.” his father sighed in annoyance. “I won’t, the council won’t and the people won’t. I will acknowledge that I obviously cannot change your mind where they are concerned but my advice to you is to send them both away and take an appropriate Saiyan female as your mate; you may go and visit them from time to time and look in on them if they are that important to you. If you cannot do that, then keep the female here as a mistress or concubine if you must; but you will need a Saiyan female to be your queen and produce an acceptable heir with for appearances sake. We may conceal the half breed here in the palace; I will not make you put him down, but he will have no position of any importance and you will not acknowledge him as your son.

“Heed my warning and take my council, Son,” his father continued. “They will have them assassinated if you don’t, you know that just as well as I do if you continue parading them around this way. I do not care which female you take, just so long as she is Saiyan. You can even have that damned Asia if you so wish it.”

Vegeta wrinkled his nose in disgust. “No. I will have no one else and that is the end of it,” he said firmly. “Now why did you insist on me coming home? I left a peaceful planet where I had my family settled to return here against my better judgment at your request.”

“You belong here!” his father bellowed. “Not out playing house with some lowly slave and this freak show farce of a family you have created. Do you honestly think that I believe that you would have been content to live your life out that way for the rest of your days?”

Vegeta gritted his teeth, knowing that his father was somewhat correct. Sure he loved Bulma and Trunks with every fiber of his being, but he would not have been content with that forever. As it was, he had been ready to step up and begin the next stage of his life and come back here, he thought guiltily. The slow paced, care free life he and Bulma had created together had been like a breath of fresh air to him after all they had been through together. He had never known peace and contentment like that; but now it was time for him to step up and become who he was supposed to become.

“That is irrelevant,” he growled dismissively. “I would have returned here eventually at some point. I only returned here when I did because of you. I was under the distinct impression that there was a war going on. I returned in anticipation of that. I have been craving a reason to test out my new abilities to their full extent, to stretch out my legs and finally see what I am fully capable of.

“I destroyed Frieza with such ease, it was almost disappointing. The thought of returning here amidst a war was exhilarating. Yet I return and things are as they always have been,” he said, gesturing around the room lazily. “I must say, I am thoroughly disappointed.”

“I see you are still just as arrogant a little shit as ever.”

“What can I say, I learned from the best,” he shrugged. “So why the urgency of my return?” he asked again.

“King Cold.”

“What about him?” he snorted. “I was expecting to come back to seeing the planet taken by him and his vermin Ice-jin soldiers. Or at least the planet to be in a state of readying themselves for a war.”

“We are not at war yet,” his father admitted. “I have much to fill you in on though.”

“Well, get on with it.”

“He is angry that you killed his son and like any other father, requests a blood debt to be repaid,”

“You already told me that,” Vegeta sighed in boredom. “What are we to do about him?”

“He wants for you to turn yourself in to him,” his father said.

“Well, then, where is he? I will gladly meet him wherever he is and take much delight in destroying him much like I did his son. I will even fill him in on the events and manner at which his son died: At my hands, humiliated and begging for his life like the coward he was!”

The king nodded. “I am afraid it is more complicated than that, Vegeta. He has rallied the other half of the galaxy in his favor. Should I not hand you over to him to do as he pleases, we will be facing a war upon epic proportions that I fear we cannot win.”

Vegeta sat there in silence a moment. “I will face him, but I will not apologize for the death of his son.”

“He isn’t seeking an apology!”

Vegeta shrugged. “Send me to him with an army. I will decimate him and whoever he has with him.”

“It isn’t that simple,” he sighed.

“How much more simple could it be?”

“There is a council meeting in an hour, we will discuss it more at length then. What I want to discuss now is where the hell you have been all this time? What happened after you left here last time?” he asked him. “Was there actually a mission from Frieza or was it an excuse to go and see the woman?”

Vegeta glared at him, not wanting to drop the subject of King Cold but relented and decided to somewhat fill his father in on his whereabouts seeing as he did not want to leave the subject alone. “I had no knowledge of her survival. The mission Frieza had sent me on was at the time unknowingly directly related to her. She sought me out in such a way that Frieza sent me on a mission to find out who was causing problems for several months. As it was, it turned out to be her and Kakarott as there was no way for them to safely make contact otherwise. Once we made contact, I abandoned the mission and that was that.”

His father shook his head at him. “You have any idea how pissed off Lord Frieza was at your disappearance? Do you know how bad that made me look that my own son disappeared off the face of the galaxy?”

Vegeta shrugged. “Do you think I gave two fucks?”

“Vegeta, you abandoned your post and people for the sake of a woman! I raised you to have better sense than that!” he yelled. “I had to take another mate and produce another heir because I had no idea what had happened to you! At my age to not have an heir and to have to start all over again! Do you know how that looks?”

“And that is my problem why?”

“You have brought disgust and shame on your name, my name and our entire race!” his father yelled. “When will you grow up and begin to make decent decisions? Decisions worthy of being a king?”

“Decisions like yours?” Vegeta challenged. “I would rather blow up this rock of a planet than be a failure king and a failure father like you, making failure decisions left, right and center!”

“I have made mistakes and there are things I would do differently if given the chance,” he admitted, “but mark my words, boy: you will learn that things are not so cut and dry when it is your turn to rule, Vegeta; and the rate at which you are going it will be a very long time before you will be ready and you are off to a very bad start if you do not shape up.”

“You have no idea of anything that I wish to accomplish! You have no idea who I am or who I have become yet you write me off as a failure!”

“You left, did not give any indication of where you were, if you were even alive for almost two years and you return with a weak alien female as your bonded mate and a half breed brat as an heir and you seem to think it to be completely acceptable!” his father argued. “How could you be so irresponsible? Once you learned that she lived, could that not have been enough? I told you when you first brought the wretched thing back with you to not bond with her and to never get her with child! Now she has poisoned your mind into thinking your union is to be something to rejoice about! From where I sit, so far you are nothing but a failure and will continue to be as such unless you begin to heed my council, you weak fool! I had nothing but high hopes for you!”

Vegeta chuckled darkly and shook his head. “She is off limits and not a topic of discussion.” His father glared at him for a long moment and Vegeta had to resist the urge to not laugh at him. He knew that look well. If he had still been a boy or if he had not surpassed his father in strength as much as he had, his father would have back handed him by now. “You know what I think? I think you are jealous.”

“Jealous? Of you!” the king snorted. “And what exactly do I have to be jealous of? You are trapped and bound to a weakling for the rest of your days and have produced a useless half breed mongrel for an heir. What exactly is there to be jealous of, boy?”

“I have ascended and have become the Legendary Super Saiyan, something you could never dream of attaining for yourself,” Vegeta gloated. “Your own weak mate did not last long and you are alone and miserable and only exist to watch your only son surpass you in every way imaginable.”

“You will mind how you speak of your mother!” he bellowed, his face reddening in anger. “She may have lacked physical strength, but she was worthy of being named queen of Vegeta-sei. She conducted herself with grace and honor the way a real queen should. There will never be a female as exemplary as her again and you will respect her memory.”

Vegeta nodded; he had meant no disrespect to his mother.

“You are the only real reminder that I have of her,” his father admitted quietly. “I only wish to see you succeed me.”

“I already have,” Vegeta said arrogantly. “I am stronger than any Saiyan has ever been.”

“Your strength at this point means nothing!”

“Would you care to join me on the training grounds and put that theory to the test?”

The King leaned back in his chair, still glaring at his son. “Your arrogance shall be your downfall. I care nothing of the woman and child you have brought back here with you but for their sakes, you had better reign that arrogance in and start thinking like a king. You will regret if it you don’t and should you fall, there will be no one who will protect them. For their sakes, you had better readjust your thinking.”

“Enough,” Vegeta sighed. “When am I to face King Cold?”

The King was silent for several moments, looking at his son with a stony glare. “Pretty much whenever you want.”

Vegeta nodded. “Then it is settled. As soon as my family is settled and I am confident of their safety, I will leave to face him. I will win and then return here. In the meantime, Bulma and Trunks will not be harmed or I will end you and everyone else whom I decide may wish them harmed.”

“They will not be harmed,” he said. “You have my word.”

“Good,” Vegeta grunted. “What else is on the agenda?”

“Nothing for now,” his father said. “There is a council meeting in less than an hour; I expect you to attend.”

“I will be there.” Vegeta nodded, getting up to leave.

“Son,” the king said just as he had reached the door. “I am glad you have returned. You look well.”

“I am well,” he grunted, sparing his father a quick, awkward glance.

“However the next time I request a private audience with you, you will not arrive reeking like you just rolled out of bed with that wench.” He said to him with a warning tone.

“And why not, father?” Vegeta challenged him. “In the past I have had to deal with accompanying you to both private and group meetings while you reek of several of your conquests from the previous night’s activities. I never commented or criticized knowing that it was not my place to do so. In turn, I demand the same courtesy. What I do and when with my _mate_ does not concern you or anyone else.”

King Vegeta glared at his son, but only nodded once in reply. “I expect you to be at the council meeting.”

Vegeta left his father’s private office without further comment. He strode down the hallway confidently in the direction of the training grounds. He knew he didn’t have time for a work out or quick spar, but he wanted to check in on the soldiers. Many of which he had not seen since before he was sent back out in Frieza’s service again.

He waltzed into the training center as though he had never been gone and smirked as he saw several of his soldiers training hard. Some were off to the side doing drills, others were sparring. He took in a deep breath and smirked. He had missed this even more than he imagined. The humid atmosphere, the dense, musky smell of sweat and perspiration and the odd waft of blood in the air from over exertion and injury from possibly a broken nose here or there during a particularly intense sparring session.

 _Those are the best kind of spars,_ he thought to himself as he felt the slight rush of adrenalin flood through him. It was not the most pleasant of odours, but he did not find it offensive. It felt inviting and familiar and he embraced it like that of a long lost comrade he had not seen or heard from in ages.

The moment the door closed behind him the men all quit what they were doing and came to an immediate stand-still.

Vegeta smirked at his men. 

"Your Highness!" Several of them exclaimed, dropping everything they were doing to greet their prince. 

"It is good to see you my prince!"

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Is it true, your highness that it was you who slayed Lord Frieza?"

He was bombarded with questions immediately from some of them. He wasn't quite sure what to say. It surprised him. He had been under the distinct impression from his father that everyone was disgusted with him and that everyone would shun him and no one would follow him. Perhaps he had been referring to only the council members but that certainly did not seem to be the case with his men, his fellow soldiers he had trained with and lead in many missions over the years both under his father’s order and under Frieza’s service. 

Instead of shunning him as he had half expected, they seemed elated at his return and were quite eager to know of his whereabouts for the last two years.

"Prince Vegeta," Nappa greeted him. "It is good that you have returned."

Vegeta nodded.  "Who has taken leadership in my absence?"

"I have, you're highness." Nappa replied. 

"And how are my men?" He asked, looking them over. They all looked well. He was not worried; Nappa would not have allowed them to slack off in their training just because he was not around. 

"Fat and bored," the bald Saiyan scoffed.

Several of the men chuckled. "Spoiling for a fight!" One of them called out.

"Is it true, Prince Vegeta? Have you ascended?" One of the other soldiers asked eagerly. 

Vegeta smirked. "Now where would you have heard a rumor such as that?"

"Kakarott told me all about it last night," Raditz piped up. "It’s the talk of the kingdom, you're highness. It has been since news that rumor has it that it was you who destroyed Lord Frieza."

"Hmmmmn.  Where is the clown this morning?" He asked, noting Kakarott’s absence. 

"Not sure," Raditz shrugged. "At my parents I think with his mate."

"If you see him, tell him I need to see him immediately."

"Of course, your highness." 

"So is it true?" Nappa asked eagerly.

Vegeta nodded once. "It is."

"I knew it!"

"Can you show us? Can we see it?" Several of them asked excitedly.

"Enough," he growled, feigning annoyance. In truth he was dying to gloat about his transformation. "You will all see it soon enough. Now tell me what is the status of everyone's training? I have been told there is a war brewing. We will soon be facing King Cold in battle. I expect that defeating him will not be a challenge.

"I single handedly destroyed Lord Frieza with my own bare hands; I beat him down, humiliated him and took his head off," he announced. "With relative ease I might add." A few of the soldiers cheered and applauded him. 

"I may be able to annihilate Cold on my own, of that I am certain. However I wish for all of you to join me in battle; fight with me at my side. We will bring honor to the Saiyan race by destroying the Ice-jin's influence and control over not only us but the entire galaxy once and for all. 

"We will begin a new era. An era where we are the protectors of this side of the galaxy, not destroyers. We will make for ourselves a new empire. An empire where we are no longer slaves; an empire where we make our own choices in the alliances we make and the Saiyan race will once again be respected throughout the universe; not feared and despised as we are now."

“We would follow you to the end of the universe and back, my Prince.” Nappa said.

“Good.” Vegeta said. “Then it shall be done. Whatever training regimen you have all been doing will be doubled. I expect to leave to face Cold within a few weeks. I will take along with me whomever is capable, which will hopefully be all of you.

“I will personally train with each and every one of you; we will all improve and surpass our own personal best and achieve levels far beyond what any of you have ever hoped to achieve. Work with me, and it will be so.”

Almost all of the soldiers saluted their prince or gave verbal agreement.

“I would be honored to train alongside you, my Prince.” Several of them said.

Vegeta smirked at them. “Very well. I have matters to see to today with my father and several meetings to attend. You all have leave to do as you wish today; you may continue to train or take the remainder of the day to do as you please, it is at your discretion. Know that beginning tomorrow, we will start our new training regimen and there will be no breaks or down time; we will train relentlessly until Cold is dead by my hand.”

Several of the men hollered in agreement.

“I will see you all tomorrow morning then. I will be personally accessing each and every one of you,” he announced. “My advice is to rest up, as I will not go easy on any of you. Good day.”

“Aren’t you going to at least tell us where you’ve been, you’re highness?” Nappa asked eagerly as he turned to leave. “You’ve been gone almost two years.”

Vegeta stood there thoughtfully a moment, debating on whether or not to tell them. He knew he could trust each and every one of them, but would they still be willing to follow him in battle if they knew he had taken Bulma as his mate and had returned with both her and Trunks at his side?

He decided to tell them. He was not ashamed of his choices and if they would not follow him because of his choices, he did not want them.

“I served under Lord Frieza as his First Lieutenant, as you all know, following his last visit here,” he began, turning back to face them. He supposed it was best to get all of this out into the open now and find out which of his men were truly loyal to him and which ones weren’t. He was unsure of how many would be accepting, but he would carry on without them if need be. He only hoped he was not endangering Bulma and Trunks by revealing their presence. “I believed Bulma, my concubine and Kakarott, my First Lieutenant to have both been deceased by Frieza and so I served him for eight long months.”

“We were all grieved by their passing, your Highness.”

“I did not agree with what happened, my Prince.”

Many of them called out in anger and outrage over what had happened.

“Thank you. However I learned of their survival,” he announced. “They cleverly sought me out and so I abandoned my post with that vile lizard and remained somewhere secluded. Kakarott is alive and well. We have trained and he is more powerful than even he ever thought he could become and I expect you all to achieve the same. For his loyal service in caring for what is mine and for achieving levels far surpassing the rank of a third class Saiyan, I have promoted him to Elite. He retains his position as my First Lieutenant. As for the Woman, she is no longer my concubine, she is my mate.”

Several of the men were quiet for a moment as they took in the information.

“The same blue haired woman you had before?” Nappa asked in shock. “That tavern wench?”

Vegeta simply nodded in response.

“Nice!” one of the men from the back shouted.

“She is to be treated with respect as Princess of Vegeta-sei. That she is not Saiyan is irrelevant, she is more than worthy to stand at my side as my mate. It is by means of her brilliant mind that I was able to ascend and take my birthright as Legendary; for helping me to attain that, she has my respect, along many other qualities that are not up for discussion nor are they any of your business.”

A few men chuckled at his statement, assuming he was alluding to _other_ things.

“It is by these means that we shall train together and achieve the strongest military force Vegeta-sei has ever had in history.” he said confidently. “Lord Frieza in his anger at my absence found her and took her from me. I went after him, humiliated and destroyed him for taking what is mine and threatening her life, as I will do to anyone who even considers doing the same. After much consideration, we have returned here with my heir, Trunks Vegeta. They are to be left alone, they cause no threat or harm to anyone. I ask for your allegiance. Anyone who disagrees with my choice in mate may leave and train elsewhere, I will not be requiring your services.”

“Your highness, no one cares.” Nappa chuckled.

“I met Kakarott’s woman and brat yesterday,” Raditz said. “She’s great.”

“We remember your woman, Sire. She was awesome.”

“Didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“Remember that number she did-?”

Vegeta looked at Nappa in confusion. “My father said,”

“Your father is the only one who has spoken against you over it.” Nappa said. “The rest of us couldn’t care less.”

“If anything, we all wished we could have congratulated you on killing Zarbon.” one of them said, which initiated several of them shouting out in agreement.

“Zarbon,” Vegeta growled, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “That fool.”

“None of us could have done it.”

“Though we all wished it had been us.”

“You were a hero over it, sire.”

“Did he hurt her?”

“No, he did not.” Vegeta answered quickly, not wanting to rehash that event. “He would have, had I not intervened.”

“I would have gone after him had I known.”

“A delicate thing like her wouldn’t-”

“Enough!” Vegeta growled. “I appreciate your support on the matter, however I do not wish to discuss it any further. All you need to know is that it was then that I first learned of my ascension and that I easily beat him to a pulp.”

“Good on you!”

He smirked at them, feeling at ease. “I must go and see to a few things. I will return early tomorrow and I expect all of you to be here.”

“We will!”

“Say hello to that gorgeous woman of yours.”

Vegeta shook his head as he left them, feeling at ease and at the same time very surprised by their reactions. It would seem his father had been either terribly ill-informed or had lied to him with regards to public opinion, or at least the opinion of his men. From what he could tell, they were still _his_ men. He would find out soon enough, he decided.

He would not mention to his father how things had gone with the soldiers just now. He decided it would be more prudent to make him believe that either he was right or that he believed his father’s lies.

**_Woman?_ **

**_Hey, how’s it going?_** She replied cheerfully. **_Your father kick us out yet?_**

**_No. What are you doing? Did Kakarott come and get you yet?_ **

**_Yea, I’m at the lab with Bardock. Vegeta, I don’t know how this is going to work._ **

**_How do you mean?_ **

**_It’s just, I’m trying to help Bardock with a project and Trunks is being really fussy._** She complained. **_I fed him and changed him and he just won’t settle in. Not in his carrier, not on the floor. Bardock even took us back to our place and I grabbed his play pen because I thought that might be more comfortable, seeing as it’s familiar to him and I brought Aro back to the lab to hang with him since Aro seems to calm him down a bit and nothing is working. Poor Bardock must be ready to lose his mind!_**

**_Give it a few days, the brat just needs to adjust to new surroundings that is all. He will adapt. Just do not fuss over him like you do. Leave him be, he will settle on his own._ **

**_And if he doesn’t, Vegeta? I can’t deal with this and never mind me, this is unfair to Bardock. We’ve accomplished nothing today._ **

**_We will figure it out. Aside from that, everything is alright?_ **

**_Yea. How about with you?_ **

**_It is fine. I spoke with my father this morning._ **

**_Oh yea. How did that go?_** She asked sarcastically.

**_About as well as to be expected._ **

**_Sorry,_** she said. **_Wanna come rescue me from going insane by means of a very angry infant? Come take us for lunch or something? Bardock would be grateful for the reprieve._**

 ** _I cannot._** He answered. **_I have a council meeting I must attend. Have Bardock take you back if the brat is being too much of a nuisance. I have something for you to work on anyway that could take you a few days and you could work on it in the suite._**

 ** _Ooh! What’s that?_** She asked eagerly.

**_I met with the soldiers and we need a strict training regimen as soon as possible. I was hoping to use the gravity simulator. However it is only big enough to accommodate three maybe four Saiyan soldiers at the moment; that is not enough. I either need a much larger simulator or several of them._ **

**_Hmmm, a bigger one could be interesting and probably far more effective in the long run. Although I would have to go through the schematics and recalculate the configurations to-_ **

**_Can it be done, woman?_** He interrupted her before she lost him in her technological babble in which he knew absolutely nothing about.

**_Of course it can, Vegeta. I am a genius after all. It would just take me some time._ **

**_Good. Take Trunks and head back to my quarters and work on that. I will be back once I am finished this blasted meeting._ **

**_Sounds good, then poor Bardock can maybe get some work done today. Have fun in your meeting!_ **

Vegeta groaned inwardly at her teasing remark as he finally reached his destination and stood outside the council room doors. He really did not feel like sitting through a boring meeting that would likely last most of the afternoon if not the rest of the day. However, he could not avoid it now.

In he went.

To his surprise the room was mostly empty with the exception of Asia and Paragus.

“Prince Vegeta, how good of you to join us.” Paragus greeted with false politeness.

Vegeta glared at him and took his usual place at the end of the table, on the right hand side where he usually sat during these tedious meetings.

“I am sorry, your highness, but that is no longer your seat,” Paragus informed him.

“Is it not?” Vegeta asked. “And whose seat is it, then? The right hand of the King. Yours, I take it?”

“It is, my prince,” Paragus nodded. “Has been for some time now.”

Vegeta shrugged rudely. “Find another.”

Paragus glared at him, but made no effort to push his point any further.

“How is Bulma today?” Asia asked with a fake smile. “She seemed rather upset last night.”

“She is well.” He answered.

“Did you speak with your father this morning?” she asked. “I know he was anticipating a private meeting with you.”

“I did,” he nodded.

“And how did that go?”

“Fine.” he replied. “When is this all important council meeting to begin?”

“Shortly.” Paragus answered. “Why? Do you have more pressing matters to attend to, by all means you are welcome to attend to them. We have done well enough without your input in your absence.”

“I think I will stay,” Vegeta said with an evil grin. “I would love to know the damage you have done in my absence. Not to mention, I am very interested in knowing about the state of this supposed war that is brewing with King Cold. Is there an actual war or was it just a well fabricated lie crafted by my father to guilt me into returning?”

Paragus smirked at him. “As a matter of fact, your highness, there _is_ a war brewing. Your assistance in the matter will be greatly appreciated, please forgive my thoughtless comments.”

“There is no need for flattery, Paragus,” Vegeta snorted. “You and I have never gotten along and I know you detest me. So cut the bullshit and tell me everything you know with regards to Cold.”

“As you wish, my Prince. My intel has knowledge of Cold’s current whereabouts. Rumor has it he has only a small army at his command.”

“Well, find out. I need more than just rumors.”

“I have it on good authority it is more than just rumors, my prince. Either way, it should be very easy for you to overpower and defeat him with the men already at our disposal; that is if any of them will follow you after you’ve shown up here nearly two years from the last time you were here without word or sound of their prince and general.”

Vegeta smirked at Paragus’ snarky remarks. “I would not worry about that end if I were you, let me worry about my men and if they will choose to follow me or not. I think you will find, they are not as fickle and easily swayed by petty gossip as the masses.”

“For your sake, I should certainly hope so.” Paragus said. “Excuse me a moment, I will return in a moment for the meeting, which should be starting at any moment.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes as Paragus left the room.

“I am glad you’re back.” Asia said to him once her father was gone.

“Are you, now?”

“I am,” she nodded. “I’m sorry for my behavior the last time we spoke.”

He frowned at her, trying to think of everything that had happened last night.

“Not yesterday, I meant when you returned the last time from your tour with Frieza and then you left again,” She said. “I conducted myself horribly.”

He smirked and nodded. “Grown up, have we? It’s a good thing then that nothing did happen between us, you ended up with something far greater. You’re queen now, must be nice.”

“Actually, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“It isn’t?” he asked in a surprised tone. “I thought it was everything you ever wanted.”

She shrugged. “It was, however I think if it had been you and me it would have been much more fun, however then I would not have my son; maybe you are right and it is best things turned out the way they did.”

“Uh huh,” he sighed.

Before she had a chance to say anything further, Vegeta’s father followed by several other council members and Paragus finally filed into the room and took their seats. Most of them nodded at Vegeta, acknowledging his presence.

“I would like to begin this meeting by welcoming back my son.” The King said.

Vegeta cringed inwardly and nodded as he was greeted by each council member a second time from some of them. It was going to be a very long afternoon.

-0-0-0-

They eventually settled into an odd routine. Vegeta was usually gone already to train by the time Bulma woke up. It seemed no matter how early she was up with Trunks, he would already be gone and would return back to her late at night a few hours after she'd crawl into bed.

Sometimes he would wake her and he would for an hour or so give her his complete and undivided attention. Other times he didn't, but she knew he was there. She would always sleep better once he came to their bed. Even when they didn't do anything intimate and he would just hold her close it seemed to just make everything better for that short amount of time.

They had only been on Vegeta-sei a week and already she could feel him withdrawing emotionally from her a little bit more each day. It was beginning to frighten her somewhat; knowing that whatever he was going through with his training and his father was weighing heavily on him.

Bulma would spend her days confined to either their quarters working on plans for a larger gravity simulator or the lab with Bardock once Kakarott got around to escorting her there since she wasn't allowed to wander the halls of the palace on her own. 

She finished her breakfast for the morning and got herself and Trunks dressed for the day. As she let Aro back into their room she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor Shepherd. He hadn't been walked since they'd arrived on Vegeta-sei. The several weeks they'd been on the ship he had been pretty confined as well. She couldn't remember the sat time she'd had a good ball toss with him.

Bulma stood outside on the balcony for a moment contemplating leaving the palace on her own for a bit. _Even if it's just for half an hour_ , she decided. She knew Vegeta would be more than pissed with her, but she was so bored with the way things were going that she really didn't care.

She changed into a comfortable pair of pants that used to be loose on her but now felt a bit snug in the waist. She sighed in frustration. "That does it." She said to herself. Just because she was a mom now didn't mean she had to compromise and let herself go. She knew she looked pretty good for a girl who'd just had a baby but she supposed there was always room for improvement. She wasn't doing herself or anyone else any good hanging out over here every day doing nothing.

She threw her pair up in a high ponytail and managed to find a pair of sunglasses while rifling through her old stuff. She put on a modest t shirt, made sure she had her pendent on for both herself and Trunks before hooking Aro up on his leash. She chuckled at him as he began to get excited when he saw his leash; he was anticipating going for a walk apparently.

Bulma quickly put a hat on Trunks before picking him up, opened the door and poked her head out. There was no one out in the hallway from what she could tell. She stood at the doorway for another moment; debating on whether or not to go through with this plan of hers. Vegeta would not be happy with her. It occurred to her then that maybe he'd like to take a break from all the political nonsense. 

 ** _Hey, Vegeta?_** She called to him. She figured she'd not get a response from him. Unless she was upset, he usually didn't reply to her. She waited for a few moments.  “Screw it. I'm going.” She sighed under her breath and off they went. 

Bulma walked quickly and quietly down the hallway, passing a few palace slaves as she went.  She smiled, nodded and said hello to all of them. Who cares if the king didn't like it? She thought to herself. She saw a few palace guards as well and acknowledged them politely, cringing inwardly and hoping they would not stop her from leaving. Soon she made it to the huge doors and she left the palace.

Bulma took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and warm breeze and sunshine. She walked down the long steps and stopped once she reached the bottom.

"Now which way should we go, Aro?" She asked the Shepherd. She decided to walk to the left and stay close to the palace so she wouldn't get lost. 

She shuffled Trunks onto her other arm, wishing she had a stroller; he sure was getting heavy already.

She walked with Aro all the way around the palace, it hadn't taken her nearly as long as she thought it would and decided to take him around again once more seeing as the palace grounds seemed to be more or less deserted; she didn't see the harm. So off she went.

They made it about half way when she noticed a tall Saiyan male standing by the back exit of the palace by himself. He wasn't doing anything, just standing there quietly by himself. Bulma was sure she hadn’t seen him before, not that she had met that many people the last time she was here. She vaguely remembered Vegeta’s companions the night she and Vegeta had met. One was a huge, muscular, bald giant. The other was also really tall but his hair was almost down to the ground. That was all she could remember.

This male was also very tall, well she supposed everyone was tall in comparison to Vegeta. However he wasn't bulky in build like most of the Saiyans she had seen. She loved that Vegeta was sleeker in his build and not bulky like most of the other Saiyan males seemed to be. Kakarott was a tad more on the bulky side than what she liked. 

This guy was tall and lean. He had the typical dark Saiyan features, but his expression wasn't as harsh as most of the race seemed to put off. His hair was long, but flowed behind his back neatly; she could not tell how long it was. 

Bulma couldn't help but look at him. She wasn't sure if she should say anything to him or not. He was looking right at her and she figured in that case it would be rude of her to not acknowledge him. 

She smiled at him as they made eye contact. Though he just continued to look at her with a blank, almost vacant stare. _How odd_. She thought to herself. 

Not knowing what else to do, she kept walking. "Hello," she said as she walked by him. He was watching her intently and she couldn't read his expression. If she thought Vegeta had a straight poker face that she had difficulty reading, he had nothing on this guy. 

 _Alright, whatever_ , she thought to herself, shrugging it off. At least she'd made the effort. 

She kept going but couldn't shake the awkward feeling that he was still watching her. Against her better judgment she turned to look back at him and sure enough, he was still watching her closely. It was weird and just a little bit creepy she decided. 

Bulma quickened her pace just a bit, wanting to head back into the palace and to the confines of her room as quickly as possible.

 ** _What is wrong?_** She heard Vegeta ask.

 ** _Nothing,_** she lied.

 ** _No, you are bothered about something._** He persisted. **_Are you alright?_**

 ** _So now you want to talk to me?_** She snipped irritably at him. 

**_What are you on about?_ **

**_I tried to talk to you earlier and you didn't reply._ **

**_Were you in danger?_** He asked.

**_Were you in need of assistance?_ **

**_Then?_ **

**_I'm bored, Vegeta!_** She wined. **_There's nothing for me to do, nowhere for me to go._**

**_Woman, I cannot sit around with you all day or bring you and the child with me._ **

**_Okay, but can you maybe show me around outside the palace maybe? So I can get out a little bit? I'm going stir crazy._ **

  1. He replied somewhat harshly. **_Just stay in. It is not safe for you to be wandering about on your own._**



**_But I'm not on my own,_** she objected. **_I have Aro and Trunks with me._**

 ** _You know what I mean,_** he deadpanned. **_Did Kakarott not come get you today?_**

**_No, not yet. What are you doing now? Come get me. Let's go for a walk. Aro needs it. I'm bored. Show me around the outside the palace. Take me out and show me your planet. Please?_ **

He was quiet a long moment and she figured he was distracted by whatever he was supposed to be doing. **_Later._** He finally replied. **_You are alright? No one has come to trouble you?_**

 ** _Yes. I'm fine,_** she said already back to the palace entrance and climbing the stairs. Still there was no one in sight.

**_There is a banquet tonight, celebrating our arrival._ **

**_You mean Your arrival_** **.** She corrected.

 ** _Our arrival._** He insisted. **_We shall attend as a couple or not at all._**

 ** _Oohh that could be interesting,_** she teased. **_You sure you wanna be seen with the likes of me? They may boo us out and throw things at us. Case in point, are you sure I’m even invited?_**

 ** _Do not be foolish._** He growled. **_Just have yourself and the brat ready in a few hours. I will come to get you and do not dress the boy in any ridiculous garments._**

**_No worries, I won't. Anything specific you want or don't want me to wear?_ **

**_You want me to wear blue or you don’t want me to wear blue?_ **

**_Wear something blue._** He clarified.

**_That’s it? Just blue?_ **

**_What are you going on about, Woman?_ **

**_You have no further opinion on what I wear?_ **

**_What further opinion do you want?_** He asked irritably.

 ** _Oh, I don’t know, light blue? Dark blue? Something Sexy or something elegant?_** She rattled off in a teasing tone.

There was a long pause. **_Surprise me,_** he finally replied.

 ** _Alright, will do._** She answered. **_I’ll leave you to whatever it is you’re doing and see you later. What are you doing by the way?_** She was already back and inside the confines of Vegeta’s quarters by this time. She thought briefly about worrying on being lost in the huge palace. It wasn’t that hard to find her way around.

**_I am in a council meeting, a very boring council meeting._ **

**_You can’t ditch?_** She asked hopefully, though knew the chances were highly unlikely.

**_No, I cannot. I will see you when I come later to get you. Make sure you are ready to go when Kakarott comes to get you._ **

**_See you then. Love you._ **

He didn’t respond further but Bulma didn’t take offence. She knew he was busy and stressed out. She hoped that maybe tonight he could take the opportunity to just chill through the evening, though she knew the possibility of that was slim to none.

Bulma unhooked Aro and opened up the balcony door before grabbing him a bowl of water. She smiled at him as he drank; maybe she should have left him behind, she thought to herself. It was really sad she just couldn’t give him the time he needed. Not that he was any trouble, she just felt bad that she couldn’t give him the exercise he needed because she wasn’t supposed to leave. She decided that she would talk to Vegeta about it tonight. Hopefully he would be in a decent mood this evening.

Bulma placed Trunks into his baby carrier as he had fallen asleep again. She hoped that he would sleep the rest of the morning while she was getting fitted. He was usually pretty good so she wasn’t overly concerned.

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was Kakarott.

He picked up Trunks and off they went. Bulma was thrilled that they were attending this banquet thing as well. She would have someone to talk to at least.

“Here we are,” Kakarott announced cheerfully. “You remember Amira, right?”

“I do,” she nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that the talented seamstress was still there.

“Hey, would you like me to take Trunks back with me?” he asked, looking at the now awake child.

“Where are you going?” she asked somewhat in alarm but then felt bad for asking him that. She knew Kakarott would never do anything to put Trunks in danger. Vegeta’s paranoia was obviously beginning to rub off on her. “Sorry, that’s fine, but I don’t know how long I will be.”

“I’ll just take him back to my mother’s place, if that’s alright. Chi-Chi is there with Goten. She’s getting ready for the evening and my parents aren’t attending so they offered to watch Goten and even Trunks for you and Vegeta for the evening. I can bring Trunks back to you first thing tomorrow morning.” Kakarott offered between making silly faces at Trunks, making the baby laugh.

“Are you sure they won’t mind? I don’t want to impose,” she said, looking at Trunks. “And I don’t know if Vegeta would agree with that, not that he doesn’t trust you or your family, I know he does, but-”

“It’ll be fine, Bulma. I’ll talk to him after I drop Trunks off and come take you back to his room,” Kakarott said easily. “Come on, Bulma. He and Goten haven’t seen each other since we got here and my mom is dying to meet the new heir and you as well, actually.”

Bulma nodded. “Alright,” she agreed. “But if it’s too much trouble, bring him back.”

“Not a problem, he’ll be fine, Bulma; you’ll see. It’ll be good for you and Vegeta too. I know he’s stressed to the max.”

“Yea,” she sighed.

“Okay, I’m going to go. I’ll go grab a few things from your room and then head off with Trunks. I’ll be back in about an hour, alright?” he said.

“Sounds good, thank you, Kakarott.”

“Don’t mention it! Chi-Chi and my mother will be thrilled.” he said and turned down the hallway, leaving Bulma there. She hoped Vegeta would be alright with the arrangement for the evening. She just wanted to have a nice evening with him. Hopefully they could have that tonight.

Bulma walked into the seamstress’ shop.

“Hello?” she called out, knocking on the door as she walked in.

“Hi there,” a feminine voice greeted, though she could not see anyone. “Oh, it’s you.” she said coming out from behind a wall.

“Hi,” Bulma nodded.

“I heard rumors that you were back here,” she said. “Though I didn’t believe it. Wow! Who’d have thought!”

“Yea, it’s pretty wild,”

“So are you here for a gown for this evening?” Amira asked.

“I am, if it’s not too short notice.”

“Not at all. I have a few things actually already in the works that could work. Come take a look and it won’t take me long to alter something and finish it for you for this evening.”

“Thank you,” Bulma said gratefully.

“Something blue?” she asked.

“Yes, please. It’s Vegeta’s, I mean the Prince’s favorite.”

“I know it is,” she said knowingly. “Alright. Now what exactly are you looking for? I have some small dresses that I have started and never completed that I think would fit you perfectly. Since I saw you last, I had ordered a bunch of patterns to fit your small frame. Unfortunately, you weren’t around long enough last time. Here, have a look at these,” she said, handing Bulma a few different pattern designs.

“Thank you,” Bulma said, looking through them eagerly. It was going to be hard to choose one being that they were all beautiful. “Oh wow, these are exquisite.”

“I like this one,” Amira said, pulling out a pattern of a very sexy ball gown with a plunging neckline and high slits on both sides.

“That is beautiful,” Bulma agreed, looking at the picture. “But I think I need something a little less revealing.”

“You’re still the prince’s concubine, are you not?” Amira asked shortly. “I think it’s perfect. You certainly have the figure to pull it off.”

“Thank you,” Bulma nodded, feeling her face grow warm. “Umm, actually, I’m not his concubine anymore, I’m his mate.”

“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I did hear that, though I thought that had been just a rumor. Alright then, so you need something elegant; this is your first official appearance as mates then I take it?”

“It is, yes,”

“Alright, well, I think you need to make a statement then,” she said with a smile. “It has been the talk of the palace that the Prince returned with someone; there are several stories and theories going around. I had heard that it was you, but dismissed it as it was reported that you had been killed.

“So I think we need to whip you up something special. Something dramatic yet intricate, sexy but still elegant and modest-”

“I don’t need anything too over the top, really. Asia might get upset.” Bulma cut her off quickly.

“The queen has the most exquisite wardrobe at her disposal already, worry not.” Amira said, waving her hand in dismissal. “You must have something amazing, I insist on it! Do you know how many women I have fitted for gowns today in hopes of catching the eye of the Prince?”

“I thought you said there was a rumor he had someone?”

“Exactly that, it is just a rumor, no one knows for sure; no one has seen him or heard from him in a long time. Therefore, we need to find you the perfect dress.”

“Alright,” Bulma agreed with a smile. In truth, she wanted something amazing to wear and wanted to look her absolute best seeing as it would be her and Vegeta’s first official appearance together; she was nervous and afraid of the reception she would get. Would people be accepting or would they be outraged? She figured she may as well look her best.

She continued to flip through several design patterns on the table, it was no easy task, seeing as all of the dresses were stunning. She flipped through two or three more when she noticed one dress that immediately caught her eye. “This is it,” she said, turning it around to show Amira. “If you have the time,”

Amira smiled and nodded. “I think it’s perfect!” she agreed. “And I have a very similar dress pattern that is already half made up. It will take nothing for me to alter it a little and add some of these finer details.”

Bulma smiled, satisfied with her choice.

“Now, come with me, I have to take your measurements and fit the existing dress to you,” she said, leading Bulma away to the back of her workshop. “And in the meantime, I want to hear _everything_ that happened since I saw you last.”

-0-0-0-

After about an hour, Amira was satisfied with what she had created and let Bulma leave with Kakarott so she could finish the remaining alterations and finer details without interruption; Bulma’s dress would be complete within just a few hours.

Kakarott escorted Bulma back to her and Vegeta’s suite so that she could get ready for the evening.

“I told Vegeta about Trunks,” he said. “He wasn’t overly thrilled, but in the end I convinced him that it was alright.”

“How did he seem?”

“Who? Vegeta? Or Trunks?”

“Both, I guess,” Bulma shrugged, though she had more been asking about Vegeta.

“Oh, well, Trunks was fine. He and Goten seemed really happy to see each other, so they’re fine. My mother is watching them and Chi-Chi is getting ready for tonight,” Kakarott told her. “And Vegeta isn’t in the best of moods, but I’m sure he’ll cheer up. I let him know that the two of you are invited over for breakfast tomorrow at my parents place when you come to pick up Trunks.”

“Really? I would love to, but I don’t want to impose any more than I already am by leaving Trunks over there.”

“It’s not an issue, Bulma,” Kakarott shrugged. “Besides, Chi-Chi really misses you and it would be good for you to know where we’re staying just if you want to leave Trunks again, then you know he’s fine and it’s not far from the palace so you can maybe come visit Chi-Chi and Goten any time you want.”

“Yeah, right, like Vegeta would allow that ever.”

“He might,” Kakarott shrugged. “I’ll convince him, you’ll see.”

“Alright, I’ll leave that in your hands then,” she sighed.

“I’ll see you later on, Bulma.” Kakarott said once they reached Vegeta’s quarters. “Hey, I wanted to get something nice for Chi-Chi for tonight. Any ideas?”

Bulma smiled at her friend. “Aren’t you sweet,”

“Well, I haven’t since she became my mate and she found a really pretty dress at the market earlier and I thought it would make her happy to have something nice to wear with it?”

“Just go get her something matching,” Bulma shrugged. “Like some flattering jewelry or something. Did you see the dress she got?”

“Yea,”

“Alright, get her a bracelet or a really pretty necklace and matching earrings to go with it. Every girl loves jewelry and accessories; you can’t go wrong with that.” she suggested.

“Thank you, Bulma.”

“Sorry I’m not more helpful,”

“No, that helps a lot, actually.” he said. “See you guys later.”

“See ya.” Bulma replied, heading into their suite. Truth be told, she was feeling a little bit excited to go to this thing this evening. She figured she had a couple of hours to prepare and decided on taking a bath, washing her hair and just relaxing and taking her time to get ready.

She checked in on Aro, who had gone back to sleeping on the balcony once he noticed it was only her entering the suite. She grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine and set to running herself a nice, hot bath; she hadn’t had one in so long, the thought to herself. Not since she had been here last. She quickly dismissed the memory of the last time; that had been the night Vegeta had been upset over learning that she would be preforming for Frieza’s visit. Everything had gone bad after that.

She shook her head in an attempt to shake off the bad memory.

Bulma poured herself a glass of wine and slipped into the deep tub as the warm water continued to run.

She smiled to herself as she thought about the evening to come.

Amira had been helpful and had given her some insight on what was happening here. According to her, half the kingdom had been in an uproar over what had happened to her what with Frieza blowing up the ship she and Kakarott had been on.

It hadn’t specifically been that, though, it had been the way the King had handled it. When rumors that Vegeta had taken Bulma as his mate had gotten out many of the people had been horrified not at the thought that he may have taken a slave as his mate but at the callous way by which King Vegeta had written off the whole situation. He had written off his son and only heir who had been well loved and respected throughout the planet by the people and his peers after Vegeta had not only lost his mate but had been brutally beaten by Frieza for doing so and then sent out to serve under him.

The King had not once showed an ounce of sympathy towards his son but instead spoke out against him and his character, making his son out to be weak minded and foolish. Therefore, public opinion in the palace and around the planet as a whole was that Vegeta bailed on his post as Lord Frieza’s First Lieutenant, betrayed his father and assassinated Lord Frieza as a means of avenging both her and Kakarott’s supposed deaths.

Shortly after Vegeta’s last appearance on the planet Vegeta-sei, his father had taken Asia as his mate and produced a new heir. This as well caused something of a scandal. While no one knew where their prince was, everyone knew that he was alive and well and that he should have been revered for slaying Frieza. Not pushed aside and be spoken of as though he were a deceased traitor of his race.

Bulma could not help but feel somewhat relieved that for the most part, people seemed to be happy that Vegeta had returned, despite the king’s slanderous remarks to everyone about him. She wondered how much the king had really said and how much of it was done by Paragus. Vegeta had been very vague, but she knew he and the King’s advisor were not getting along. She wouldn’t put it past the miserable man to go around and spread lies about them to turn public opinion against both Vegeta and herself. If he was, it didn’t seem to be helping. With the exception of the king, no one seemed to care that he had chosen her. Everyone she had met so far had been polite to her. Though she wondered if that was because they weren’t sure who she was. She supposed after tonight everyone would know that she _was_ indeed their Prince’s mate so it could change. She decided to not dwell on it; whatever would be, would be.

Bulma shut off the water and fully immersed herself in the warm water, revelling in the heat. She shut her mind off and tried to not think of anything but the relaxing feeling of the warm water enveloping her body. _This_ would be her new favorite pastime. She told herself.

She lay back in the tub for a few minutes, basking in the complete silence. She opened her eyes and sat up, leaning against the back of the tub, bringing her knees up to her chest. She took a sip of wine and watched the water ripple as she made figure eights and other circular motions in the water. It felt like an eternity since she’d had any time just to herself of peace and quiet. No crying or fussing; it was almost odd. She fought back the slight pang of guilt at allowing Kakarott to take Trunks.

She was quite content with the silence, not realizing how much she missed it. Did that make her a horrible mother to have just let someone take him so that she could relax this afternoon and so that she and Vegeta could have an evening out and to themselves? She hoped not. She loved Trunks dearly, but as of late he had been so fussy. She didn’t know if he was just teething or still adjusting to their new surroundings. She had been trying to keep him on a consistent routine of feedings and naps. Though now by letting someone else care for him that would be out the window. _So much for trying to establish that,_ she scoffed to herself.

Bulma wondered how her parents were doing. She hoped they were alright. Her mother would have known what to do with Trunks, and how to deal with all this drama. Her mother was always good at turning an awkward situation around.

As she sat in the tub, allowing her mind to jump to all sorts of random thoughts for a while before she noticed her hands beginning to prune up and decided it was time to come out. She quickly washed her hair before shaving her legs and exfoliated herself; she wanted to make sure she looked perfect for Vegeta. Not only for this banquet itself but _after_ as well.

She came out, dried herself off and was happy to have found some subtle scented body lotion. As she applied it generously, she could not help but inspect her body and the changes it had undergone. She knew she was very fortunate to not have gotten any stretch marks, but was still not happy that her belly wasn’t as flat and toned as it had once been. She knew she didn’t look that bad for a girl who had just had a baby a few months ago, but she also knew she would have to start doing something about that now before it got away from her.

Normally she would not have been so harsh on herself, but the dress she had chosen to wear tonight was such that any physical imperfection she may have would be noticed and she suddenly wished she hadn’t let Amira talk her into such a dress. She hoped Vegeta liked it at least.

She quickly combed out her hair and found her old rollers left over from before with her stuff from Earth; she had no idea what she was going to do with her hair yet but figured curling it would give her some volume and help her figure something out. After she did that, she started on her makeup.

She kept it simple; her lips a very light pink and brushed a shimmer with a hint of pink on her cheeks but made her eyes dark and dramatic with a smoky look. On her upper lids she blended a navy blue eyeliner into a charcoal, and blended it flawlessly only on her eyelids so it gradually faded into a nude shimmer shadow up to her brow line. When she finished, she thought of darkening it a tad, but then changed her mind, deciding that having just dark lids was sufficient; she didn’t want to detract from her dress too much and as it was, the navy blue contrasted with the natural light blue of her eyes, making them stand out.

By the time she was done her makeup, her hair was mostly dry. She took out the rollers and scrunched some kind of product into it. Still unsure of what to do with it, she found herself tousling it and twisting it this way and that and decided that she wanted more of a messy look. Bulma loosely braded her hair on either side of her head. She then twisted the two sides and pulled them back into a low ponytail and created a tightly put together but somewhat tousled-looking bun that sat low on the nape of her neck. She was able to strategically pin it in such a way that it looked loose, but it actually wasn’t. She smiled at herself, quite pleased with herself and decided it was perfect.

About twenty minutes later, Amira showed up personally at her door.

“Oh my, you look stunning! I can’t wait to see you in this dress!” she exclaimed.

“You sure it won’t be too much?” Bulma asked nervously. “I mean, you don’t think I’ll be over dressed? I don’t know what anyone usually wears to these things.”

“It absolutely will not be too much!” she rolled her eyes. “Just wait until you see what everyone else is wearing, you’ll be fine. Though I must say this is by far one of the prettiest designs I have ever done. You’ll definitely make a statement!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bulma sighed. “Alright, let’s see it.”

Amira hung up a long dress bag on the door frame of their bedroom and unzipped it, revealing the exquisite royal blue satin gown.

Bulma smiled as she looked at it, reaching out to touch it. It was surprisingly light weight. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’ll look even more beautiful once it’s off the hangar and on you.” the seamstress said brusquely, taking it off the hanger and handing it to Bulma.

She went quickly to the washroom and changed into it, being very mindful of all of the delicate embroidery, beading and mesh. It was essentially a simple, sleeveless mermaid-style gown with a sexy, yet modest sweetheart neckline. Where her skin was bare on her chest and back, however was a nude colored, nearly invisible mesh, however from a distance, it appeared to be completely backless, with the exception of embroidered flowers only on the left. She zipped the dress up the side and went outside to show Amira her masterpiece.

Amira beamed at her as she exited their bedroom and made her way back into the living room area. “It’s perfect!”

“This is gorgeous,” Bulma agreed.

“Turn around.”

Bulma did as she was told. “You sure it’s not too over the top?”

“Not at all!” she commented, helping fasten a hook on the side another few notches in, making the dress slightly more snug around her waist and hips, giving Bulma the appearance of a perfect hourglass figure. “Hmmm,”

“What?” Bulma asked nervously. “It doesn’t look right, does it?”

“No! It looks perfect on you!”

“Then what’s wrong?” she asked suspiciously as she noticed the other woman staring at her bum.

“It needs a train.” Amira said, scrutinizing the dress itself and not Bulma.

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I’m going to a dinner function, not my wedding.”

 “Pity,” she sighed. “You would have made an exquisite bride. I can see why he likes you.”

Bulma held back a smile. She remembered Amira saying that to her before when she was making a wardrobe for her when she had first arrived here.

Amira walked around her slowly, taking in every possible detail of how the dress fit and hung on her. The flowers from the back left side of the dress tapered off on the mesh on the front of her left shoulder and a small cluster of flowers began on the front of the dress on the left near her collar bone, delicately traveling at an angle upwards and over her right shoulder; only a few stray light blue petals and leaves showing behind her shoulder, no lower than her shoulder blade.

Amira stepped behind her to help her button up the mesh in the back around her neck. “The mesh is nearly invisible, I knew I’d picked the perfect shade.”

“Yeah, It looks way better than I thought,” Bulma agreed. “And much nicer than the sheer blue we were going to use.”

“You mean what _you_ wanted to use.” She corrected. “I told you we needed to make a statement. It would have been beautiful with the blue, but I think the nude gives it a bit of an edge. The gown is still very polished and proper, but that little extra skin showing, but not, makes it striking and _fierce._ ”

Bulma laughed at her overdramatic explanation.

“Silly,” she scolded. “What have you done with your hair?” she asked, still behind her from finishing doing the back of her dress up and examining her hair.

“Is it bad? I can change it.”

“No,” Amira said quickly. “I like it. Do you know how many women began pinning their hair up after the last time you were here?”

“Really?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded. “It was quite the trend for a few months. I was quite busy making jewelled hair accessories and little hats. Several of the dresses you had worn when you preformed had been in very high demand; variations of them, anyway.”

“Oh wow,” she murmured. “That’s kinda cool.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but when we sat down and did up a wardrobe for you and you had given me your input on several of the dresses, I used a lot of those modifications.” she admitted.

“I don’t mind at all!” Bulma said cheerfully. “I’m flattered; use what you want. Feel free to ask for suggestions any time! I kind of always wanted to be a fashion designer back when I lived on my own planet, but I ended up designing more practical things for my father like ships and such.”

“Well after this evening, I am sure I will be getting many new demands,” she smiled. “Thank you for letting me experiment with you and lending your creativity.”

“No problem! Thank you for finishing this up so quickly! I can’t believe it.”

“Not a worry,” she scoffed, waving her hand in dismissal. “I had this flowered embroidery panel for ages; was never sure what to do with it because it was simply too beautiful to cut up. I needed the right project to justify it.”

Bulma laughed at her. “Thank you, I love it.”

“Now what type of shoes will you be wearing?” Amira asked her.

The two women began a debate on which shoes to wear. Fortunately, Bulma had been wearing flats when she had come to see Amira and amidst the seamstress’ excitement over a new project they had completely forgotten about shoes.

Bulma was trying to convince her that it was perfectly acceptable for her to wear flats with the dress, seeing as the hemline hung just above the ground. Amira argued that she could still get away with a bit of a heel.

As the two of them debated it, neither of them noticed Vegeta come into the suite. He stood there a moment, watching them discuss shoes at length and shook his head. “Are you ready to go, Woman?” he asked.

“Vegeta!” Bulma exclaimed. “I didn’t see you, yes, I’m ready. Amira just came by to drop off my dress, what do you think? Is it too much?”

“No,” he said simply. “It is acceptable.”

Bulma held back a smirk, knowing that even commenting that much in front of Amira was a big feat.

“I am glad you approve, your highness,” Amira said to him. “Have a wonderful evening.”

“Thank you, Amira.” Bulma said to her as she headed out of their suite.

“Wear heels!” was all she said before she slipped out.

Vegeta frowned in confusion.

“Shoes,” Bulma said.

He nodded. “I have something for you,” he said, walking up to her slowly, looking somewhat unsure of himself.

“Oh yea?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, eyeing the two rectangular black boxes he had in his hands.

He handed her the first one.

Bulma smiled brightly at him, biting her lower lip, trying to contain the girlish giddiness threatening to take hold of her. She opened it up and covered her mouth with her hand. There, in the rectangular box was a pearl and crystal necklace, with a matching bracelet and simple pearl earrings. The necklace had four strands of pearls with each strand bigger than the next, and a giant crystal brooch in the shape of an intricate, blue crystal vintage flower.

The bracelet was an identical match to the necklace, in that it also had the four strands of pearls and brooch but also had a mix of crystal leaves and pearls, and it made as much of a beautiful, delicate statement as the necklace did without being over the top.

“This is absolutely stunning, Vegeta,” she whispered to him almost in awe. Never had she seen such a beautiful piece of jewelry.

“Hmmmn,” he smirked at her, he knew he had done good in his choice.

She handed him the box as she took off the earrings she had initially chosen for herself and replaced them with the new ones. She put on the bracelet as well and held up the necklace, inspecting it even more closely for a moment before turning around and holding it up around her neck. “Will you?” she asked.

Vegeta placed the other box down on the table next to them and did up the clasp on the necklace for her. He leaned into her and lightly kissed and then nipped the back of her neck once he was done. He ran his hands down her sides slowly, taking in the back of her dress. While she was still technically covered up in sheer nude mesh, it gave the distinct impression that her back was bare, but only on the right side, the left side of her back was partially covered in light blue beaded flowers that went from the small of her back and all the way up to her shoulders, disappearing around the front of the dress.

He took note of the intricate, blue beaded flowers on the sides of the mesh; they were so delicate that they almost gave a tattoo effect on her skin before they blended in with the navy blue fabric of the actual dress itself.

“What’s in the other box?” she asked eagerly, turning herself into him. “Something matching for you?”

“No,” he snorted. As if he would wear anything with flowers and pearls on it! “This was my mothers.” He said, taking the other box and opening it for her, revealing a small, thin, single strand tiara wreath made of dark blue stoned flowers, very similar to the flower on her necklace and bracelet, only in dark blue stones. There were small diamonds and pearls encrusted into it, making it look elegant and delicate; it was the perfect complement to the rest of her pieces he had given her.

“I can’t wear this, Vegeta,” she said after taking it in a moment.

“You do not like it?” he asked.

“No, no, Vegeta! It’s beautiful, I love it!” She defended quickly, not wanting to offend him. “I just, your father is going to have a fit, is all. Wouldn’t anything that would have been your mother’s belong to Asia now?” she asked, touching the small jeweled flowers carefully as though worried it would crumble.

“It was at the palace gallery, as were a many number of exquisite pieces of jewelry that were my mother’s at one time. They have been discarded and donated by my father and that wench.” he replied somewhat harshly. “Therefore, anyone may have them.”

“Then I would be honored to wear it,” she said, carefully taking it out of the box and looking at it. It certainly was delicate, held together by the thinnest silver setting. “It is beautiful. Is the necklace and the rest, were they your mother’s too?” she asked.

“No,” he answered. “I just happened to notice it after I had chosen the necklace and bracelet bit. My father and I had chosen it for her; I cannot remember the exact occasion, but my father brought me along with him to select something for her for some banquet and this was what I had chosen. It was mere months before her passing, she had been pregnant already.”

Bulma smiled warmly at him as she took a step close to him, wrapped he arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll keep it always,” she said to him. “Thank you.”

She turned from him and walked up to the mirror in their bedroom and placed it on her head and fixing a few strands of hair so that it wouldn’t fall out. She admired herself and her beautiful new accessories a quick moment before heading back towards him.

“Well? What do you think?” she asked, turning around in front of him.

“I think you look like a queen.” he said.

“Well, I wouldn’t quite go that far, but thank you.” she said, blushing a little under his heated gaze. “So were you out shopping for when we spoke earlier? Is that why you were so distracted?”

“Hmmn,” he smirked at her, non-committedly.

He took a quick shower before changing into a royal blue flight suit beneath his formal armor, compete with the deep red royal crest on the white breast plate, white gloves, boots and red cape behind him.

She walked up to him and kissed him chastely. “You don’t look like a prince, you look like a king.”

“Let’s go.” he said, offering her his arm after kissing her back.

Bulma linked her arm with his and walked with him as they exited their suite. “Try to loosen up and have fun tonight, will you?”

He said nothing but they continued down the hall walking together brusquely, arm in arm towards the huge banquet hall.

Bulma stopped abruptly just as they reached the doors. Vegeta turned and looked at her with a questioning look.

“I’m scared,” she confessed. “What if they kick me out?”

“No one will kick you out,” he said irritably. “Should that be the case, and I highly doubt it, we will leave together. Just stay close, you will be fine.”

“Don’t abandon me.” she said.

“I would do no such thing,” he scoffed. “Let’s go.”

Vegeta opened the doors of the banquet hall and together they walked in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

 

_**Chapter 6** _

They walked in through the huge doors and into the banquet room. It was already crowded.

Despite having the confidence in knowing she looked nothing short of stunning in her dress, Bulma tightly gripped the inside of Vegeta's elbow in nervousness.

A few people discontinued their conversations to glance at them. A few nodded in acknowledgement.

"I see you made it," his father greeted them. He eyed Bulma in a way that made her feel very uncomfortable. "You are looking exceptionally regal this evening. One could almost mistake you for an actual princess and not a simple bed slave." He said loud enough for those nearest to hear.

"Thank you, your highness, you are most kind." She replied in the nicest, most gracious tone she could muster, despite the grave insult. Could he not attempt to be nice for five minutes even?

"Bulma is my mate. Therefore she retains the title as Princess of Vegeta-sei." Vegeta said boldly to his father, also loud enough for those who were listening to hear.

"I suppose you could pass her off as such easily enough," his father shrugged dismissively. "Very well, I will play along with this charade for the evening; enjoy yourself, my dear." He said to Bulma with a nod.

Vegeta glared at his father a moment before walking away from him, taking Bulma with him. There seemed to be a very awkward silence filling the banquet room as they walked silently through the crowd. Bulma wished they could just turn back and head back to their suite, but she continued to walk at his side with her head held high; she was not going to give the king or anyone else there the benefit of knowing how uncomfortable she was being scrutinized for simply existing. She took Vegeta's lead; he didn't seem bothered so therefore she would try and act as though she wasn't bothered either.

He led her to a table with several different drink concoctions. "What would you like?" a servant asked them.

Vegeta turned and looked at her. "I'll just have a glass of wine." Bulma said quietly.

The servant poured her a nice, healthy glass of red wine and handed it to her. "Thank you." She said quietly, not wanting to be reamed out again by the king for displaying politeness to the servants.

Vegeta got a drink for himself and they headed off towards the head table.

"Vegeta, are you sure we're allowed up there?"

"Of course we are," he replied gruffly. "Where else do you think we will be sitting?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. She was still very uncomfortable with this whole situation. "With the other servants in the kitchen?" she joked.

"Hey, guys!" Kakarott greeted them on their way. "You look really pretty tonight, Bulma."

"I love you're dress, Bulma! Wow!" Chi-Chi gushed.

"Thanks!" She said, turning around to show her friend. "You look amazing as well."

Chi-Chi was wearing a long, strapless, plum-colored satin gown with angled gathers and ruching. It fit snugly around her bust and the length of her body but flared out just a touch from the hips downward. It showed off her nicely toned arms and curvy figure beautifully.

She wore her hair up in a French roll but let a few strands strategically fall around her face, framing it delicately. Bulma noticed she had also given herself bangs, which added to the sophisticated, yet sleek look. She had always thought her friend looked better with thick bangs.

"What a beautiful necklace." She commented, glancing quickly at Kakarott who grinned childishly at her.

"Thanks!" She beamed. "Kakarott came back with it. He also got me this matching hair pin as well." she said, turning around again, revealing a gold and amethyst-stoned barrette that she had placed vertically in her hair. It perfectly matched the gold necklace with a large amethyst tear drop pendant that she wore. All in all, her look was very simple, but classically elegant.

"Kakarott, I must have a word with you." Vegeta said urgently to the younger Saiyan. "We can leave the women alone a moment."

"Sure thing, Vegeta, just don't take too long, I'm really hungry."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and walked away from them, Kakarott following him.

"So where did you find your dress, Bulma? I love it! You're so lucky. I bet you have access to amazing stuff here! And your jewelry? It's perfect. Where did you get it?"

"There's a seamstress here, she's awesome." Bulma said, still watching Vegeta and Kakarott walking away, wondering what could possibly so urgent that they had to discuss it right away. "I met her the first time I was here so I saw her again today and the jewelry Vegeta picked out."

"Really?"

"Yea, I had my own stuff picked out left over from back home and he surprised me with all of it."

"Wow!" Chi-Chi commented. "He never ceases to amaze me, that guy."

"Yea, tell me about it. I had no idea!" Bulma gushed. "The tiara apparently was his mothers."

"Oh wow! Really?" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "It's gorgeous! Oh, you're so lucky! Wearing queen jewels."

"That is a very beautiful design." Asia said, walking up to them eyeing Bulma up and down. "And just where did you manage to scrounge up something like this so last minute?"

"Thank you. I called up my Fairy Godmother." Bulma said to her jokingly, more than relieved that Asia was commenting on her dress and not the jewelry.

Asia just looked at her blankly, not getting the reference.

"Chi-Chi, this is Asia, the queen of Vegeta-sei." Bulma said quickly, changing the subject, not wanting to start anything.

"It's nice to meet you," Chi-Chi said to her.

"You're a human as well?" Asia asked, looking her over.

"I am," she nodded.

"Chi-Chi and I were best friends on our planet," Bulma said. "It was a pure fluke that we found each other."

"Fluke?" Asia repeated with a slight frown.

"A fortunate accident," Bulma clarified. "Anyway, Kakarott is her mate."

"Oh," Asia nodded. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Thank you." Chi-Chi nodded.

"Where is Vegeta?" Asia asked Bulma.

"He and Kakarott left, I don't know, to go discuss something a few minutes back." Bulma answered. "Why?"

"No reason," Asia shrugged. "Just surprised he let you out of his sight."

Bulma shrugged. "He can't watch me every moment of the day."

"Where is your son?"

"Someone volunteered to look after him for the evening, you know to give us a night off. How is your son?"

"He's good." she nodded.

"I'd really like to meet him," Bulma said to her with a smile. "Maybe we could arrange for a play date some time? I could bring Trunks. Maybe they could be friends."

"Saiyan children do not play," she replied dryly.

"Chi-Chi has a son too," Bulma volunteered.

"His name is Goten," Chi-Chi said. "He and Trunks play together all the time. Kakarott brings me here to hang out with Bulma some days so she's not all on her own and the boys can hang out."

Asia nodded at them. "That sounds nice. Perhaps one afternoon I will bring Tarble by."

"Sure!" Bulma chirped happily. "Why not?"

"It might be alright," she agreed. "After all, there are no infants or young ones his age at the palace."

"Great!" Bulma exclaimed, she knew Vegeta would more than likely not approve, but she was so sick of sitting around by herself! She and Asia may never be friends, but at least they had something in common; even if it only was the fact that they each had a child.

Asia gave her an odd look and walked away. She wasn't sure why she had agreed to that. Tarble was a prince, the next heir of Vegeta-sei. Why would she allow him to hang around a couple of half breeds? More importantly, why would Bulma have any interest in her or her son after everything that she had said and done to her? She would have thought the girl would want to remain as far away from her as possible; on the other hand, Asia well knew the adage to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Was that what the invitation had been about? She wondered skeptically if the two human women were perhaps mocking her. They seemed sincere enough; Bulma especially.

Asia dismissed it all together for the moment and decided to enjoy the evening. The people's reaction to Bulma could prove to be quite entertaining and thankfully, she had front row seats.

Vegeta and Kakarott returned a short time later. By that time, dinner was ready to be served.

Vegeta and Bulma took their seats at the head table a few seats down from the king and Asia.

 _ **Is everything alright?**_ He asked her.

_**Yea, it's fine. You? What was that all about?** _

_**I needed to inform Kakarott of the current situation with this possible war with Cold. We needed to come to an agreement.** _

_**An agreement? About what?** _

_**I will fill you in later on.** _

Bulma sighed in annoyance. He hadn't told her anything with regards to any of that since they got here. She had hoped that since he hadn't brought it up that maybe it meant that things had just blown over, though who had she been kidding? She knew it wouldn't just disappear; and if it did, Vegeta wouldn't let it.

Dinner was finally served. It was an assortment of wonderfully scented meats, fruits and vegetables. Bulma wasn't sure what to choose first so she watched as Vegeta filled his plate with a few different things that looked interesting before following suite.

King Vegeta shook his head as he noticed how little she had taken in comparison to everyone else at the table whom she had not been introduced to; she assumed they were high ranking officials and cabinet members.

Everyone at the head table ate their meal in a sort of awkward silence for the first half of the meal. It wasn't until Bulma had gotten up to get a second helping of some kind of fruit salad that anyone chose to acknowledge her or Vegeta's presence.

"So where is it that you are originally from?" one of the older Saiyan men asked her. "I did not have the opportunity to meet you during your previous visit, but I remember you very well."

Bulma looked up at him in surprise. Frankly she didn't think anyone would be willing to speak or even look at her. "I am from a planet called Earth that isn't around anymore. I was taken before it was destroyed."

"And you met our prince, how?"

"I was working someplace and we met and," she smiled, feeling her cheeks redden just a little at the memory of their first meeting. "And the rest is history, I guess."

The King snorted rudely. "He acquired her as his bed slave would be a more accurate account."

She smiled at the king, despite his rudeness. "Yes, that is true, however things just sort of fell into place."

"It happens," one of the older men at the table shrugged. "Wasn't Borrak's woman a courtesan at one point?"

"I believe she was."

"They met at some function she was working at and I can't remember the details, but he caused somewhat of a scandal stealing her from her owner," the first man explained. "Lovely woman, amazing cook. They have been together almost seventy years."

"Wow. Seventy years?" Bulma commented. "That's a long time."

"Who was that slave that you favored, your highness?" another older Saiyan male asked the king.

The king glared at him.

"Which one?" Asia asked in a snippy tone. "He has so many."

"That one with the long, pink hair," he continued. "My god, she was something; I remember she was able to play pretty much any instrument. Didn't you release her?"

"I did," the King nodded. "I have no clue as to her whereabouts."

"I think she lives on one of the small islands, your highness. The last I heard she is mated with a family. Not sure who to though. Lucky bastard."

Bulma couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable. Other than the king, none of the others present at the table seemed to have a problem with her and Vegeta's history or her race.

Vegeta relaxed somewhat on the inside as he finished his meal. So far with the exception of his father, everyone was being polite to Bulma and she was handling herself very well. He knew she was still a little nervous, unsure of what to say and what not to say, but she carried herself confidently and did not falter. Most seemed impressed with her and he did not get the impression that they were speaking to her only to mock her later on behind closed doors. He had not once have to come to her aid; she seemed comfortable to take on any question she was asked and even found nothing but the most polite responses to his father's odd rude remarks he would throw in time to time. He was not surprised by her though. He knew she could verbally defend herself if she needed to. It was important that she speak with them all herself instead of referring to him.

"Can you tell us about your transformation, my prince?" someone else asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I heard you let the men see it yesterday. I would love to witness it firsthand."

Vegeta went into a brief account of his ascension. Everyone was eager to hear of it. He even shared Bulma's involvement in assisting him with the use of the gravity simulator and how a larger one to accommodate more soldiers at a time was in the process of being built.

She smiled at him as he told the story of her invention and its benefits; he hadn't needed to do that. She would have been happy if he had taken responsibility for doing it on his own or if he had given Bardock full credit for the gravity simulation; it had been Bardock who had built it on his own after she had left Vegeta-sei.

"So you are far more than what meets the eye," Paragus said to her. "Interesting."

"I was a scientific engineer on my planet." she clarified with a smile, not liking how he was looking at her. "My father was a well-known inventor and I had planned on following in his footsteps. It is my honor to have helped out your prince. However, I have no doubt he would have done it on his own eventually anyway."

Dinner passed by quickly and without incident. As soon as the King was finished with his meal he stood up to make an announcement.

"My people, it is with great happiness that I have gathered you all here today to welcome back and celebrate the return of my son and heir back to our kingdom," he began. "He has been on leave for some time now. As I am sure you have all heard through some means or another, he has lived up to my expectations and has claimed his birthright; he has ascended to become among the Legendary. He is a Super Saiyan."

Many of the soldiers present clapped and hollered at the announcement.

"I am proud to welcome him back. He has been on leave perfecting his transformation, as many of you know, Vegeta is a perfectionist and would not rest or return until he was completely confident in his new abilities. He returns here a stronger and smarter warrior and with a _mate._ "

Bulma didn't miss the way the word _mate_ was said with distaste and refrained from snorting at him.

"My wish here tonight is for you all to welcome them here. Vegeta has been given full decision making authority where King Cold is concerned; my full confidence is with him in this matter.

"But tonight is not a discussion about war and combat; tonight, I wish for everyone to enjoy themselves. Eat, drink, dance and enjoy my hospitality on this joyous occasion."

Everyone present in the banquet hall clapped, cheered or raised their glasses.

"Have you anything to say, my son?" the king asked.

"Not particularly," he sighed. He wasn't sure what to say.

"Just say something simple, Vegeta." Bulma whispered quietly to him. "You don't have to make a big speech. Just something quick and to the point."

"Hmmn," he nodded in agreement at her as he stood up, but grabbed her arm, prompting her to stand up as well.

 _ **Vegeta, I'm not saying anything.**_ She said quickly in panic. _**I can't! This is your thing, not mine.**_

_**You do not have to.** _

Bulma nodded once, relieved that he wasn't going to make her say anything. She folded her hands delicately in front of her and looked out at the now intimidating-looking banquet hall. She wasn't sure what Vegeta was going to say; she only hoped the guests wouldn't throw things at her in an outrage at her being there and standing at his side. She really liked this dress and really didn't want it ruined.

She caught Chi-Chi's excited smile for her and smiled back awkwardly.

"This should be good," Asia muttered to her father and the King. She sat back with her arms crossed and her wine glass up near her cheek with her head tipped in interest.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Vegeta said somewhat awkwardly. "I realize that my absence has been long and for the most part unexplained. I do not wish to go into detail but my father is correct, I have ascended. What he did not mention was that I could not have done it in such a timely fashion without my mate. I fear I cannot take all of the credit for that. Those of you who know me well, know that if I could, I would."

Several of the soldiers chuckled at him.

"I return here with a mission. It is my hope to repair the reputation of the Saiyan race, damaged over the years because of our association with the Ice-jin. It will take patience and many years, but I am confident that it can be done. Our victory in this coming war will be our first step in breaking away from them and making our own name in this universe; but that is enough talk of that. I must agree with my father that tonight is for rejoicing. Tomorrow we will discuss war strategies."

There were many shouts and applauds at the completion of his speech and Vegeta sat down, satisfied. Bulma couldn't help but smile at him; he hadn't had to mention her part and it surprised her that he had, but that he did warmed her heart.

With dinner for the most part finished, many of the tables were cleared and an orchestra began to play. Bulma watched in delight as many of the couples present began to dance together in what looked to be very similar to a slow waltz.

"Do you want to dance, Vegeta?" she asked excitedly.

"No."

"Awe, why not? Everyone else is." She said, gesturing at the several couples out on the dance floor.

"I do not dance," he replied. "Ever."

"Yes you can," she objected playfully. "Remember that night we first met? You danced with me then. I remember you being pretty good."

"I did not say I _couldn't_ dance; I said I _do not_ dance." He clarified.

"Awe, come on, Vegeta," she whined. "Look; Kakarott is dancing with Chi-Chi."

Vegeta looked at his first lieutenant and his mate a moment and wrinkled his nose in distaste. Kakarott was attempting to dance with Chi-Chi, though he looked stiff and clueless and it looked more like she was trying to show him how. "He looks like an idiot."

"Well at least he's trying," Bulma sighed. "I know you won't look like that, so come on! It'll be fun; quit being such a wet blanket."

"No," he insisted sourly.

"Son, I must have a brief word with you alone in private." his father said to him. "Paragus has some new and potentially crucial information with regards to King Cold and his current station whereabouts."

Bulma held back an inward groan and instead just sighed in disappointment.

"Do not worry, my dear, I will only borrow my son for the briefest moment." the king said, noting her unimpressed demeanor.

"Hey, don't hold back on my account," she said sarcastically. "Business is business, right?"

"Indeed it is." The king nodded at her.

"You are to remain here," Vegeta whispered in her ear. "Do not speak with anyone but for Kakarott and his mate and you are to not leave the hall."

"I get it, Vegeta," she sighed in annoyance. "I'm not three."

He glared at her a moment before leaving her sitting at the head table on her own. _**If anyone hassles you, you are to let me know.**_

 _ **I will. Just hurry back, Vegeta.**_ She replied. What a disappointment tonight was becoming. Vegeta was in a foul mood, she wasn't allowed to wander around or mingle. So much for making a few friends and acquaintances, she thought to herself bitterly.

Bulma watched Vegeta exit the banquet hall with his father and a few council members and slouched back in her chair with her arms crossed, looking all together like a sulking child on a time out. She didn't care though. She scoffed inwardly at how her mother would have been scolding her for slouching if she had been there.

She watched Kakarott and Chi-Chi. They appeared to be having a good time together despite his cluelessness on how to dance. She held back a laugh as he stepped on her and she was trying, nicely, to correct him but she could see her friend's annoyance bubbling beneath the surface. At least they were together and trying to have some fun, she mused to herself.

As the minutes went by and her boredom increased, she noticed her wine glass had become empty and decided to get another drink for herself. She got up from her seat, smoothed out her dress and made her way to where the bar was.

She grabbed herself a glass of wine and stood at the sidelines of the banquet hall, quietly enjoying her wine by herself and observing everyone else. She smiled as she watched Chi-Chi and Kakarott still dancing together. It looked as though they had made some progress and Kakarott was getting the hang of it.

A few Saiyan women approached her and spoke briefly with her, admiring her dress and accessories. They seemed nice enough and for a few minutes, she forgot that Vegeta was still gone.

Bulma was going to go back to her seat at the table when she noticed that guy from outside earlier when she had been on her walk with Aro. He was by himself, not talking to anyone but was staring at her.

She smiled at him, but he didn't acknowledge her. She sighed and looked away for a moment, feeling somewhat awkward. When she happened to look in his direction again she noticed that he was still standing there staring at her.

Buma smiled at him uneasily again. _What is his deal?_ She wondered to herself. He was just so quiet and reserved. He didn't say anything, just kind of sat back and observed; which wasn't a bad thing. Vegeta could be socially awkward at times, but this guy seemed different. _Is he a mute?_ She wondered.

Feeling awkward standing there by herself and beginning to feel somewhat creeped out by his unwavering stare, she decided to go over and speak to him.

"Hi, I'm Bulma," she said, walking up to him. "I'm-"

"You're Vegeta's mate," he finished for her.

 _Okay, so he can talk._ She thought, nodding. "Yes, I am. What's your name? You seem to be as much an outcast here as I am."

"I am Brolly," he answered. "I am a family member of Asia's."

"Oh," she said, feeling really stupid now; of all the people she could have randomly chosen to talk to, she just _had_ to choose the one that happened to be related to Asia. "Yea, I've met her a few times." She nodded, trying to remain neutral.

"She has spoken of you lots."

"Oh, I'll bet she has," Bulma chuckled to herself, wishing Vegeta would return quickly or that the ground would swallow her up; whichever happened first.

"You're even more beautiful than she had let on for you to be," he said.

"Why thank you," she stammered, feeling her face redden just a bit. This situation becoming more awkward by the second. "So, um, how come I've never seen you around at any of the events before? I mean, not that I was here that long before; I was only here like a week or two at the most. I don't remember seeing you here."

"I grew up on a different continent of the planet with my family," he answered. "I decided that farming and tending to crops is not something I wish to do my whole life so I joined the military with hopes of becoming an elite soldier."

"Cool," she nodded, unsure of what to say. "Sometimes picking up the family business isn't always what you want and you have to choose your own path, I guess; nothing wrong with that."

Brolly nodded and narrowed his eyes somewhat at her insightful comment. She had no idea how true that statement really was; he had no interest in being here. He was only here because his father had dragged him here. He hated social gatherings, he hated politics. He would rather be back home with his grandmother than here.

"Very true," he said. "Is it common for women of your race to have such a unique hair color?" he asked, changing the subject.

"No, not really." she shrugged. "I'm special though."

"So I hear," he nodded. "I have heard much about you."

"Yea, I'm sure you have," she said quietly, looking at her feet. "I think everyone has."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," he muttered. "Neither does my prince; as you say, sometimes you need to make your own life's path."

"Thank you." She smiled at him.

"There you are, Woman," Vegeta said, walking up to them.

"It's about time you made it back," she said gratefully, giving him a relieved smile. "I was starting to think you'd ditched me for good." She teased.

"Do not be ridiculous." He said, rolling his eyes.

"This is Brolly," Bulma said, gesturing to the seemingly forgotten Saiyan male still standing silently next to her. "He's a family member of Asia's."

Vegeta regarded him silently a moment. "Other than Paragus, I have never met nor have even heard of another family member of Asia's. What is your business with my mate?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him.

"Its fine, Vegeta," she said to him, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "I came to talk to him."

"I warned you to keep to yourself. Where's that fool, Kakarott?"

"I can assure you, my prince, I meant no harm where your mate is concerned," Brolly said. "Kakarott is over there with his mate at their table. Your mate simply came to introduce herself, which was a harmless, but a great kindness on her part as I simply detest social gatherings such as these; she is very kind, indeed."

"I see, then what brings you to such a gathering?" Vegeta asked coolly. "I have never seen or met you before."

"I am simply here to honor his majesty's return to the planet Vegeta-sei along with everyone else present this evening," he replied, bowing his head respectfully. "It was also my pleasure to meet your lovely mate, my Prince. As well, I have just enlisted as a soldier, your highness. It is my wish to one day fight at your side and gain your full respect."

"We shall see," Vegeta said, frowning at the other Saiyan and ushering Bulma back towards their seating place.

 _ **That was rude, Vegeta!**_ She exclaimed accusingly.

_**I told you to keep to yourself and speak with no one other than Kakarott and his mate.** _

_**Yeah, I know while you left for like a half hour off doing who knows what? You expect me to just stand here like a wallflower and not talk to anyone all night?** _

_**You're right, what was I thinking? You can't keep that mouth of yours shut for any length of time without resisting the urge to speak to someone.** _

_**And that's a bad thing?** _

He sighed heavily and growled in agitation. _**Under normal circumstances, no. But here it is an issue!**_

_**Then why did you bring be back here, Vegeta?** _

_**Do not put that on me! I was all in favor of leaving you behind until I had sorted out matters over here. It was you who insisted on coming with me.** _

_**Fine, you win that one; but I'd really like to know what it is you have planned, Vegeta? Because I'm bored. You leave me all day to go do whatever with your father and the council and your training. There's only so much Bardock has for me to do, not to mention it's unfair to him for me to always be dragging Trunks with me. He takes up too much of my attention for me to be of any help to him.** _

_**You bring me out here tonight, you won't dance with me and you expect me to hang out in a corner like a pariah while you discuss more war plans with your father. I understand you're busy and that I can't help you out on this, but I feel like you're shutting me out completely, Vegeta. What's next? You locking me up in your suite all together so I'm not allowed out ever to do anything because you're too afraid someone's going to do something to me? Guess what? The few people I have had the opportunity to talk to and meet have actually been really nice. Is it possible you're overreacting just a tad?** _

_**I would rather overreact than underreact.** _

"May I borrow your lovely mate, son?" the king asked, approaching them both.

"That depends." Vegeta replied, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his father.

"I only wish to dance with her; that is all."

"You do not dance. Ever." Vegeta said. "Go and find your own mate to dance with."

"I said I would make the effort for the evening on your behalf. It is such a shame such a beautiful girl hasn't had the opportunity to dance this evening." He said innocently enough.

Vegeta looked at Bulma a moment, considering whether or not he should allow his father the opportunity or not.

"Sure, why not?" Bulma said with a smile, quickly making the decision for Vegeta. "I don't mind, seeing as you're being such a drag." She added teasingly.

_**Watch yourself with him. I do not trust him.** _

_**Are you planning on leaving again?** _

_**No.** _

_**Then I am sure it will be fine. He's not going to do anything to me in front of all these people, Vegeta.** _

_**If he does, I will end him.** _

_**I really don't think it will come to that.** _

"Shall we, my dear?" the king said, offering his arm to her.

Bulma took a deep breath to calm her nerves and hoping for the best, she went with him; leaving Vegeta standing on the sidelines. _**I'll be fine, lighten up.**_ She said to him.

A moment after they left, Asia walked up to Vegeta, frowning at the King and Bulma. "He never dances," she commented sourly.

"Oh, I know," Vegeta huffed, crossing his arms. "I do not know what he is up to."

"Well, would you dance with me?" She asked hopefully.

"No." he replied, watching his father and Bulma very closely for any sign that his father had ill intentions.

"I'm so bored," she whined.

Vegeta completely ignored her as his kept his gaze focused on his mate and his father. They looked to be having a civil conversation.

-0-0-0-

"Are you enjoying yourself this evening?" The King asked as they started to dance some kind of waltz that she was easily able to follow.

"I am, thank you."

"Good," he said with a nod. "I have a few things I need to discuss with you while we have a moment."

 _Oh, great._ She thought to herself. "Of course, what would you like to discuss?"

"What would it take for you to leave my son and to never return? Name your price." He asked her bluntly, not skirting around the subject.

"There is no sum of money that could sway my decision to stay with him." She answered with a slight frown.

"Everyone has a price, my dear, simply name yours." The king said. "If it is not a matter of price then there is something of value; everyone wants something. What do you want? Name it, it is yours."

"You couldn't give me what I want. Not even close." She smiled, shaking her head, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Try me,"

"Well, I would _love_ to have my planet back, live happily and peacefully with my parents again. You know on my planet, my family was among the wealthiest and most prosperous. My father and I were very highly respected and thought of; I was, in a sense, practically royalty, the one and only heir and successor to his empire. It would be nice to have that again, but I'm afraid impossible. So that's one thing you can't give me.

"So, Vegeta and Trunks are my family now. Do you _really_ want to know what I want? All want is to live quietly and happily with my family." She answered confidently and truthfully; after all, that _was_ all she really wanted and so far, he was the only one seeking to prevent that.

"You'll never get that with him." The elder Vegeta scoffed, shaking his head. "He is a warrior; born and bred to lead this planet to victory, not be a domesticated family man; it simply is not who he is. He may have had a lapse in his judgment and thought that settling down with you and that brat was a good idea; but that will not last, my dear, despite his best intentions.

"I know he managed to destroy Lord Frieza and he _may_ defeat King Cold but that does not guarantee peace. Peace is for women and weaklings; how ironic that you fit the bill on both aspects of that. Besides, there is always somebody left to fight, a world that needs to be conquered; you get the picture, I am sure. We are a warrior race, I am sure you know by now.

"My point, my dear, is that Vegeta will not be content for long living this little fantasy life that you've somehow sucked him into. You've had your time with him and I will acknowledge that he does care deeply for both you and the child. I will even commend you for keeping his attention this long; you are a strikingly beautiful woman, I must admit that if I had seen you before he did that I would have been content having you in my bed for a time until I bored of you. Therefore, you must have some usefulness outside the bedroom to be able to keep his unwavering loyalty for this long of a duration. So you should feel fortunate. No concubine has ever achieved what you have and I will admit that have greatly underestimated you.

"Take heart in that and know that it is simply time for the two of you to part ways," he continued, not giving her a chance to reply or object to anything he had to say. "I have tried to get him to see how obvious it is that he sever ties with you and the child. I raised Vegeta to be the perfect warrior; therefore it is imperative he not have any emotional ties holding him back. I have tried to get him to see reason; I am sure you are more than aware of how stubborn he is. He will not listen to reason from me but perhaps your influence will prove more fruitful. I meant what I said to you over dinner the other night that you would command my full respect if you left now without making a fuss. Surely you care enough about Vegeta to not want to hinder him any longer than you already have."

"I am not hindering him or holding him back." She replied evenly, ignoring his cruel outlook. "I do not make his decisions for him. I support him in anything he wants to do. Why can't you just leave him be? Give him a chance-"

"Why can't _You_ leave him be? Let him become who he is meant to become. He will never reach his full potential if you do not walk away from him. Is that what you want?" He asked her in a clipped tone. "He has the potential to be the greatest king Vegeta-sei has ever seen in over a thousand years and I will not sit back and watch him waste his life away over a woman."

"I agree with you," she replied calmly. "I think he has the potential to be a wonderful king. I don't see what that does or doesn't have to do with me."

"Let me put this to you another way: You are a parent and want nothing but the best for your child, do you not?" He asked her after a heavy, exasperated sigh and she had to swallow back a smile at how much he resembled his son, or rather his son resembled his father when annoyed.

"Of course I do."

"Then look at it from my point of view for a moment, as a parent and not some foolish female hanging on to ridiculous sentiments of romance; I have been told you are a genius so humor me, this notion should not be overly difficult for you to grasp I should hope.

"Say your son grows up to be a respectable young man and manages to make a name for himself and you as a parent are proud of him and all of what he could accomplish in life and just as he is beginning to mature and come into his own he meets a woman.

"I do not know what would be considered unacceptable as a potential mate in your culture, but for this exercise, try and picture someone detestable enough whom you could absolutely not accept into your family. Your son chooses this person to be his lifelong, bonded mate despite your concerns, warnings and council. Would you not, as a parent only looking out for his future and his best interests, do everything within your power to keep them apart to protect him from making a disastrous life choice? A choice that could ruin him?"

"Wow, I didn't fully realize how detestable you found me; thank you for illustrating that." She said sarcastically.

"Answer the question."

"Alright," she sighed, hoping she could explain her point of view in such a way that he could both understand and hopefully respect. She happened to catch Vegeta's eye from across the room, sending him a quick smile of reassurance that she was fine even though she knew he was probably upset with her for blocking him from listening in to their conversation, but this was something she needed to do on her own. Maybe this was her chance to possibly begin showing his father that she wasn't just some opportunistic girl out to ruin his son for her own amusement and selfish gain. However, she also knew the chances of that were slim to none at best; but she would try and understand his objections and reply in a dignified and respectful manner and ignore the insulting remarks he seemed to find appropriate to throw at her. Now was the time to try and put on a good impression, not spew insults back at him; she was better than that and she knew it. He had been baiting her all night; she knew that and hoped just a little bit that if she ignored it and held her composure maybe she could score some brownie points, even if they were just the tiniest crumbs of the brownie.

"Firstly, unless she's a drug addict or someone that would hurt him, like, say couldn't be faithful to him and this person has proved to not be the person he should be with then yes, as a parent I would be concerned. However, that is still ultimately his choice to make. If he is a grown man and has found someone he truly wants to be with then there is not much more I can do but voice my concerns and let him figure it out for himself. I would hope that I would _never_ put Trunks in a position to choose between myself and someone else that he has decided he cares for; it isn't right."

"And if you know that it is a grave mistake?" he pressed her.

"Kids are going to make mistakes, it is how they learn," she shrugged, beginning to get annoyed with him. "As a parent, I believe it is my job to be there for him; to instill in him values and principles and at some point, I will have to take a step back and trust in him that he will make proper choices and trust that Vegeta and I raised a sensible, well-adjusted young man who will make good life choices. If he makes a mistake, all I can do is be there for him and help him guide his way through it. And with regards to finding a mate, I can't be with him forever. If he finds someone that I'm not crazy about, all I care about is that this person is loyal to him and cares for him as much as he does for her. It's his choice, he's the one who will have to live with her.

"The same goes for Vegeta. I get where you are coming from, as a parent. However, I am not out to do any harm to your son. I care very deeply for him as he does about me. I realize that in your society I am not considered an acceptable choice, but it was _his_ choice. I am not with him because of his title or because of what he can do for me. I am with him because I love him and I want to be with him; whether he stays here and becomes a king or we leave here and live quietly together with no titles or any of that. He made his choice knowing everything that was at stake. We discussed it. I don't even know why he chose me. I'm weak, I can't fight; I get it. But it was still his choice to make and I think you should respect that. I am not going to leave him just because you have a problem with us being together. Give me a chance. I am not just some stupid broad or a piece of arm candy he picked out randomly off the street. I am a genius, a technological genius. I have helped him and I will continue to help him. If you would just sit back and let us be, maybe you would see that I am not the worst person in the universe to be with your son. Trust that your son is smart and can make his own decisions; that he saw some redeeming qualities in me other than where my looks and potential bedroom skills are concerned."

"I would hope so," the king snorted. "At least he has not lost all sense then. I do not care what he sees in you as far as redeeming qualities are concerned, I am asking you to see the _un-redeeming_ qualities from my point of view and am asking you from a parent's perspective to understand my objections."

"I understand your objections and that is all they are, however unfounded," she replied sweetly as she smiled at Vegeta again from across the room. "Honestly, I just want to live the rest of my life with my husband and my son."

"And how long, may I ask, is the life expectancy of your race, my dear?" He asked her.

Bulma frowned at him and kind of shrugged. "I don't know, seventy, eighty years? Sometimes ninety if you're lucky. Why, what difference does that make in the case which you seem to be building against me?"

The older Vegeta sighed heavily and shook his head.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. "What's the life expectancy of a Saiyan then?"

"I see, you never discussed that?"

"No," Bulma shook her head. "Why would that come up? Don't tell me you guys have some freakishly long life span of like five hundred years."

"No, not five hundred; but we have been known to live as long as one hundred and twenty years to one hundred and thirty years of age." He replied in almost a monotone. "Most Saiyans never get the chance to die of old age; we die in the glory of battle."

"Sounds wonderful," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"It is," he nodded. "It is honorable; not that you would understand anything about that. Now can you understand why I am so upset? How old are you, girl? Twenty, if that? Within another twenty or thirty years you will begin to start withering away and Vegeta will still look as he does now. Not only that it would be only two or possibly three decades more for you if you manage to be as you say, _lucky_ , and live to your full life expectancy; by that time, Vegeta will be just reaching the prime of his life."

Bulma frowned slightly and swallowed hard at his words. This had been something that had never come up before. It had never occurred to her; she had assumed something as trivial as life expectancy would have been the same for him as it was for her. And now that she knew they were decades apart in terms of life expectancy, she could somewhat understand his father's outrage. "We're bonded," she said, looking up at him.

"And do you know exactly what that means, my dear?" he asked. "Did he explain that to you?"

"Yes, I know. He told me all about the bond and the side effects," she nodded.

"Did he happen to mention it before or after he so foolishly bound himself to you?"

Bulma scowled at him; it was one thing for him to insult her, but quite another for him to insult and think so little of Vegeta. "I was well informed about the consequences before we committed ourselves to one another."

"I see," he nodded. "Yet you failed to discuss something as crucial as life expectancy."

"Why would it occur to me to ask something like that?" she objected. "On my planet, everyone more or less has the same-"

" _Your_ planet; a planet of weaklings, obviously," he spat. "I could understand somewhat you not thinking of such things, coming from a weak race but not once, did it not cross your mind that a warrior race with superior strength and abilities might have a longer life expectancy than yours?"

"No."

"Vegeta should have known," he growled. "That stupid boy. Thinking only with his cock and not his head."

"Give him _some_ credit at least," she defended angrily. "You know, for a parent you sure are hard on him and only seem to want to dwell on his few negative traits. I'll have you know Vegeta's positive qualities far outweigh his negative ones."

"Well it does not matter now, does it? Being that he bonded with you the chances are high of him passing once you do. What a waste, what a complete waste of the most promising King this planet has ever seen; thanks to you."

"Well what if he doesn't die?" she said. "He told me you managed to work your way through it, that it's a rare occurrence, but that you did it. Maybe he can too; I would hope he could do the same."

"I can only hope," the king sighed in aggravation. "At this rate, it is a blessing I have another son. I will more than likely outlive you and him both; what a joke!"

"How old are you, you're highness, if you don't mind me asking? Just out of curiosity sake."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her a moment before replying, "I am in my eighty-first year."

"What? Wow!" she breathed, genuinely shocked. "I would have never guessed that."

"Do not attempt to flatter me, girl," he growled. "I am well aware that I appear much older in years than I am."

"Sorry, I wasn't mocking you," she said. "I assumed you to be in your late forties, early fifties maybe? Though that was an estimation solely based on Vegeta's age and not how old you appear. If you were a member of my race, I would have pegged you more in your late thirties, early forties at the most?"

"Wonderful, I appear middle-aged by the standards of your weak race; I see you were indeed mocking me or you have no fear, which in your case is very stupid."

"No, sir, I wasn't. I merely made the observation going by Vegeta's age." she shook her head and then sighed in defeat. What was the point? He obviously hated her and there wasn't anything she could do to change his mind and obviously nothing she could say to place herself in his good books for even five minutes. "Never mind."

"Maybe you are not so stupid," he said. "I still believe it is in your best interests to leave him. Let him focus on becoming who he needs to become. Raise your child on your own."

She shook her head. "I can't do that," she said. "Not unless it's what he wants."

"You know as well as I do that he will never go along with that."

"Then I'm sorry, I guess you're going to have to get used to the idea of us being together." she said jokingly in an effort to try and lighten the mood. In actuality, she wanted to go running back to Vegeta. "It would make family dinners a whole lot less awkward, you know."

"I suppose I could crush you. Right now, at this very moment." He growled, shaking her slightly.

"I know, but you won't." She replied boldly.

"You don't think I would?"

"No, I don't. Vegeta would end you and you know it."

"He would still be rid of you in his life. It would be worth it."

"True, but we're bonded, remember? If I die, he'll die too. I'm fairly certain you don't want that. Though who knows?"

"He wouldn't." The king snorted. "He's too strong to allow himself to be destroyed over something so trivial."

"I see, so then why the issue of me not leaving him then?" She asked with a smirk. "If he wouldn't allow himself to fall over losing me, then what harm is there in me staying? Furthermore, if you're so sure he'll pull through it then why make a big deal over life expectancy?"

The king glared at her as he realized that she was right; she had turned his guilt trip he had tried to put on her around and against him; clearly she was smarter than he had given her credit for. "Because he cannot have any distractions; you and the brat that, is all you are to him. A waste of his time and nothing more than a distraction."

"And you doing away with me and destroying a bond wouldn't be an unnecessary distraction while he tries to fight through that?"

"Well then heed my words and leave and you can spare him that. I will ensure your safety and send you away to any planet of your choosing with enough funds to start a more than comfortable life for both you and the child for the rest of your days. All you have to do is leave."

"And you don't think he would destroy half the universe looking for us? There's a great way to distract him from whatever it is you want him to be doing," she snorted sarcastically. "Just leave us be. I won't distract him. Vegeta has a mind of his own and does what he wants; I'm sure you know that, and believe me, he's more than capable."

"True enough, but he does not need your soft influence hindering his actions or plans."

"You obviously don't know him as well as you think you do," she laughed lightly. "I may weigh in my opinion from time to time, but that does not mean he goes along with it."

The king nodded at her. "I am not convinced, I am afraid. It does not matter, in the overall scheme of things. Seeing as he may or may not return from this war, I feel it would be a kindness to let you know that you need to start considering the safety of yourself and that of your child in the event that he does fail."

She paused for a moment and looked at him. "Is that the plan?" She asked. "Send him out on a mission that he will fail just because of me?"

"Not exactly, you assume too much."

"You, you are a bad man; a horrible, evil person," she said quietly, trying to contain her rage.

"I did not stay where I am because I am a _nice_ person," he said mockingly to her, "and neither will you. You seem like a nice girl, and I am sure you are, but you do not belong here. Take my council and leave."

She swallowed a lump in her throat that had been threatening to take over her and push her composure out the window all together. _Don't fall apart now, please don't fall apart now; not now, not in front of him._ She kept telling herself.

"Try not to fret over it too much, my dear. You have plenty of time to make the right choice and do right by Vegeta." He said casually. "Enjoy the rest of your evening. For your own peace of mind, I gave Vegeta my word that you are safe here for the time being."

"You mean until Vegeta fails in this war campaign you've got him obsessing over?" She snorted, stubbornly blinking back the tears she felt wanting to fall.

The king shrugged. "I said no such thing. I am only advising you that it would be beneficial for you to not get too comfortable here."

She nodded at him but did not say anything, keeping her teeth clenched so she would not say anything stupid to him.

Vegeta frowned as he watched them. He could not figure out what the nature of their conversation was because Bulma had blocked him out, much to his annoyance. However, he was able to pick up on her mood and determined that she was somewhat distressed. She looked alright, but he could tell that she was trying with great difficulty to appear unbothered by his father.

He decided that it was time for him to cut in. He marched up to them brusquely.

"Would you like to cut in, son?" his father asked him cheerfully. "It is only proper that a man dance with his spouse."

"Your own spouse is looking for you; I suggest you go and find her." he snapped at him, taking Bulma and skirting away from him.

"Thank you," she said to him, composing herself again.

"What did he say to you?" he asked her.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed. "It was a friendly conversation, for the most part. Don't worry about it."

"It did not appear friendly to me. Perhaps civil, but not friendly. Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not," she lied, weakly she knew as he scowled at her. "Alright, I'll tell you, but not here Vegeta. Can we not for five minutes just enjoy the evening without you leaving to discuss war stuff and your father belittling me? I just want to dance with you and enjoy myself and so far none of that has happened." she complained, still trying to hold her emotions in.

He nodded at her and didn't comment further as he pulled her close and they danced together.

They danced together for a little while and did a few laps around the banquet hall together. They spoke with a few people in passing. Much to both Bulma's surprise and delight many of them were very polite, friendly and quite interested to know more about her.

She was introduced to Raditz and Nappa. She was surprised to learn that Kakarott had an older brother. They looked nothing alike. She remembered both him and Nappa from the tavern the first night she and Vegeta had met and to her amusement, Raditz took full credit for them getting together.

Despite their size and Nappa's surly demeanor, she decided that they were alright. Vegeta spoke very highly of them both and acknowledged that she could trust them.

They conversed briefly for a few minutes before Vegeta lead her out of the banquet room into a small hallway and out onto a wide balcony away from the celebration where it was quiet and no one could observe them.

They both leaned against the railing, side by side and looked out at the stars and valleys of Vegeta-sei. being that the stars were so many and so big, combined with the huge moon, it lit up the surface of the planet in a silvery aura, making everything shine somewhat almost like the illustration of one of Bulma's fairy tale books she thought.

_**This isn't us, Vegeta.** _

_**I know.** _

_**You're completely miserable.** _

_**I know.** _

_**So then, fix it. What can I do to help?** _

Bulma took a glance behind them, making sure no one was there. She mirrored his position but leaned into his side slightly, extended her arm slightly over the edge, bringing it parallel to his arm; his arms outstretched as he leaned on his elbows and had his hands folded together. She extended her small finger, brushing the side of his hand with it and to her delight, he released his fingers and allowed her pinky finger to entwine with one of his fingers.

_**There isn't anything you can do. Just-** _

_**What? Leave you alone?** _

_**Hmmn.** _

_**Well, that's not going to happen, Vegeta. You brought us here and ever since then you have been distant and miserable. You don't spend any time with me or Trunks. I feel like we're just an afterthought.**_ She said, trying to not come across as needy and whiney, but she had to let him know what she was feeling at this point. _ **Please, Vegeta. Let me in. I know you probably think I am just being whiney and unreasonable, but I am trying here; I can't live like this. You can't just expect me to shut up and be content with doing nothing all day. I'm lonely and I'm bored. If you would just loosen up, let me go out and meet people or even showed me around so that I could feel safe going for a walk or have some kind of activity to focus on, let me get into a routine, find my own groove, I wouldn't be nagging at you. I don't need you around me twenty four seven, but I need to be able to have some kind of freedom, some kind of life here.**_

_**Please, Vegeta; something has to give. I know how much you want this and I am behind you one hundred and ten percent; but there has to be a way to make this work for all of us so that we are both happy. The way it stands right now, I am not happy and I know you are not happy either and I hate that.** _

"What did my father want?" he asked after a long moment of silence, changing the subject all together. "You seemed to find it necessary to keep yourself blocked off from me. Why?"

She sighed in frustration of him ignoring her but decided it best to drop the issue for the moment. "I don't know, I guess I kind of wanted to talk to him and attempt to maybe get to know him a bit and what he's all about with a completely unbiased and unprejudiced son's comments distracting me." She said somewhat playfully. She had known that he would be annoyed at her blocking him so he could not listen in on their conversation, but she wanted to see for herself if his father was really as bad as Vegeta said. Maybe he had a softer side he just did not want to show; she had hoped that him asking her for a dance was a possible peace offering. Unfortunately, it was anything but and Bulma was more than alarmed after their conversation.

"I see; fair enough," he nodded once. "You were disappointed, I assume? You're upset."

"Yea," she sighed. "You're right about him. He won't ever accept me or Trunks. He made that more than clear. He did, however reassure me that we were safe here." _For now,_ she added mentally to herself not wanting to bring that up just yet. What if her suspicions were wrong?

"What did he want?" he asked again.

"He wants me to leave you," she said lightly, looking at their hands; he had laced his fingers with hers a few moments back; she had not noticed until now. "He even offered to give me enough money for Trunks and I to live comfortably on any planet of my choosing for the remainder of my apparently pathetic life span."

Vegeta looked at her with an expression she couldn't place. "Is that really what he wanted to discuss with you?"

"Yea," she nodded.

Vegeta shook his head and clenched his teeth in annoyance; the audacity of that man!

"Did you know that Vegeta?" She asked him.

"Know what?"

"That my life expectancy is like half of yours?"

"I know," he said with an indifferent shrug. "Well, I assumed as much. A long time ago, when we first met you had mentioned that few couples in your culture managed to spend their lives together without separating from their union; I remember you mentioning some would be together fifty or sixty years. Assuming that the age of majority in your race to be around twenty years, I estimated your race must only live to around seventy or eighty years."

"Oh," was all she said, suddenly feeling really stupid now. "I, it didn't occur to me to ask you how long Saiyans live. I just assumed it would be the same."

"What does it matter?" he asked, looking at her with a slight frown. "What did my father tell you?"

"He just gave me another perspective to look at all of this from his point of view." she said, avoiding his gaze and simply looking out onto the dark horizon. "I can kind of understand where he's coming from-"

"What!"

"Just listen a minute," she said quickly before he started to jump to any conclusions. "I'm not saying he's right and I'm not saying I agree with him, I'm just acknowledging his input. Despite the fact that I think he's incredibly selfish and narrow minded, he really only has your best interest at heart; for the most part, I think."

"My father only cares about himself and his kingdom," Vegeta growled. "He has never cared for my best interests."

"I get how you see that; but you know how we have the bond and so if I pass then you might pass, right?"

He simply nodded and exhaled heavily, already knowing what she was getting at and not wanting to discuss it right now, or ever.

"So, when I'm like seventy and a wrinkled up old woman, you're going to look not much older than you do now. That does not bother you?"

"No," he answered.

She chuckled at him. "Great answer!"

"What else?" he asked, even though he already knew what she was going to say.

"Well, let me put this in your father's words, Vegeta, it makes a lot of sense and is a very valid concern for him; when you are just approaching the prime of your life, I will either be too old to be of any use to you or will have passed on. There's a very high possibility that you'll follow."

"I already know that." he said awkwardly. "You do not think I considered this before committing myself to you?

"But why, Vegeta? That's not fair to you."

"If the roles were reversed would you have walked away from me?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment. "No, but I don't have to worry about taking over an empire either."

"What if your planet still stood? You said your father was one of the most influential and wealthy men on your planet because of his inventions. You have never mentioned siblings, so that would make you his one and only heir to carry on his empire when he is deceased.

"If the roles were reversed, would you have walked away?"

"I don't think so, no." She answered. "But humans don't have a bond like you do."

"What if they did?

"Alright, knowing how much I love you, no. I wouldn't." she answered. "I wouldn't want to live another forty years mourning you, but that's not the point."

"Then what is your point?"

"Your father is right in the sense that it is a waste for you! You give up so much! I understand why he is upset; your father is right to be upset and disappointed in you." She said. "Do you know how that makes me feel, knowing that?"

"Why do you think I never told you? I knew you would be upset."

"All the same, you should have told me-"

He cut her off, crashing his lips against hers and kissing her deeply, urgently as though that would solve their dilemma. She kissed him back, despite the fact that she was still upset and had more to say to him.

"I don't trust him," she murmured against his mouth.

"Then don't listen to him."

"There you guys are!" Kakarott said cheerfully, walking out onto the balcony to greet them.

Vegeta quickly took a large step away from Bulma in embarrassment at being seen in such a passionate embrace. He knew Kakarott wouldn't care or judge him, but he hoped no one else had seen them making out up there.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"Just to let you guys know that Chi-Chi and I are heading out." he shrugged.

"Where is Chi-Chi?" Bulma asked.

"Oh, she's dancing with Raditz." he said, scratching the back of his head. "I stepped on her feet too many times and she got mad and apparently he knows how to dance a whole lot better than I do. Who knew?"

"Oh, I am certain quite a few could have called that one, clown." Vegeta deadpanned.

"Thanks for coming!" Bulma said "And please tell Bardock and your mom thank you for taking Trunks. I hope he's not being too fussy."

"Not a problem. I'm sure he's fine, Bulma and you can tell them tomorrow yourself when you guys come for breakfast. You're still coming, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Bulma nodded. She had wanted to meet Bardock's mate since forever.

"When?" Vegeta grunted.

"Not too early," Kakarott shrugged. "Like mid to late morning? It's already pretty late and I think Chi-Chi will want to sleep in seeing as she doesn't get to very often anymore."

"Sounds good!" Bulma nodded. She was pretty tired herself.

They watched Kakarott leave.

"What about you?" she asked him. "Are you about ready to turn in for the evening?"

"Hmmn," he nodded. Truth be told he had been ready to leave five minutes after they had arrived. He led her back into the banquet hall and they bid farewell to a few people on their way out.

It didn't take long for them to make their way back to his quarters; they walked there in silence, both contemplating the evening.

Bulma made her way to the bathroom and began taking off her earrings when Vegeta came in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in close to him. She noticed that he had already removed his armor; he was only wearing his royal blue flight suit.

She smiled at him through the mirror and leaned back into his embrace as he skimmed the back of her neck with his nose, burying it in her hair which was still in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. He closed his eyes as he breathed in her scent deeply. Her eye caught his hand moving up her side and she managed to quickly grab it, stopping him as he gripped the delicate fabric of her dress. "Don't." She said, stopping him.

"Hmmn?" he growled in question, glaring at her playfully through the mirror.

"Don't ruin this dress," she said. "Please?"

His frown deepened and his lips turned downward in a petulant sulk. "What is the fun in that?"

She shrugged. "You've ruined lots of clothes that I really liked, and I don't object all that much and I'm sure there will be plenty more garments you'll destroy in the future. Just please don't ruin this one."

"Very well," he murmured against her hair as his hands roamed her sides trying to find where to begin undoing it. "Ha," he hissed in victory as he finally found a button and a zipper on her right side, concealed beneath the delicate fabric.

As he slowly unzipped her dress, she reached up and began unfastening the small concealed buttons on the back of her neck, keeping the mesh taught. He noticed that she was having difficulty and assisted her. Bulma held her breath for a moment as she watched him, half expecting that he would destroy the garment but she was surprised when no such thing happened; true to her wishes, he did not destroy or damage it in the least. His gentleness, when he put effort into it, always astounded her.

He let the dress fall off her small frame, revealing her nakedness. He could not believe that she had worn nothing beneath her dress. "Uncouth woman," he muttered, though not angrily.

"Surprised?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"Very," he mumbled kissing her lightly on the lips. "It is not a bad surprise."

"Well, this type of dress doesn't really allow for undergarments, sorry."

"Who said I was complaining?" he said, allowing his tail to leisurely brush up along her thigh and rest loosely around her waist.

Buma kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly pressing herself against him. He ran his hands up her sides sensually as he kissed her back. A moment later, she pulled her lips from his and just looked at him; he frowned slightly at the serious expression on her face as she studied him intently.

Her hands travelled from around his neck as she arched back slightly from him so she could really look at him without stepping back and away, as his arms and tail were wrapped firmly around her waist and her hips leaned into his.

She tipped her head to the side as she thoughtfully took in the sight of him; he never failed to take her breath away. _Beautiful_ was not a word she would usually use to describe a man as masculine and driven as Vegeta, but it was the first word that came to her mind if she had to describe him in one word. _Handsome_ didn't do him justice, neither did _hot_ ; he was a combination of both and so much more. _Cute_ certainly didn't fit. The only other word that she could possibly think of was _magnificent_ , but that word she more thought of a large, black majestic heavy draft horse galloping through a field of wild flowers with his long mane and tail whipping behind him in the wind. She smiled slightly at the thought of how appropriate that word and depiction suited Vegeta and absent mindedly brought her hands up, running them through his thick black hair, musing how it kind of reminded her of a horse's mane in its thickness, though the texture of it was suprisingly much softer.

Bulma continued to look at him, taking in his features; he really did resemble his father. He was nearly a shorter carbon copy of him with the exception that he had no facial hair and he didn't have lines or wrinkles in his face; not that he wouldn't be handsome with them as he aged, she was merely making an observation and noting the differences between him and his father.

She slid her hands down from his hair to rest at the sides of his neck as she looked at him another moment before bringing her right hand up, cupping his cheek; and stroked the side of his face with her thumb, smoothing the slight scowl from his eyebrows gently, mentally snickering that if he did age ever, he would have frown lines instead of laugh lines. Finally, her fingers traveled down again, lightly touching his lips with her fingers.

He gently nipped one of her fingers. She chuckled lightly at him and brought her arms back around his neck and hugged him tightly. _It wasn't fair_ , she told herself.

"What is not fair?" he asked her and she cursed herself for letting the thought pass through the bond. She didn't want to discuss some of the things that took place this evening; not yet, perhaps tomorrow. Now that they were back in the confines of their room and away from his father and everyone else, he had let his guard down and left the stress behind. They were Trunks-free for the evening and she didn't want to spend the night rehashing all of the horrible things his father had said to her; she just didn't have the energy for it. On the other hand, if he wasn't wound up so tight maybe they could rationally discuss it now.

"What is not fair, woman?" he asked her again.

"You. Us. Everything, Vegeta." she said, burying her face in the side of his neck.

He growled at her. "I do not wish to discuss this anymore."

"I agree. I don't want to either but do you expect me to just forget about it just like that, Vegeta?"

"For tonight, yes. It would be nice," he huffed. "The brat is gone. I can think of a few things I would rather be occupying my time and energy on than obsessing over some stupid thought my father put in to your head.

"It's not a stupid thought, Vegeta!" She objected, leaning back to look at him again. "You may feel that way now because we're both young and stupid and reckless but what about down the road? You're not going to resent me eventually?"

"Why would I resent you over something like that? It isn't something that you have any control over."

"Maybe not now. I'm young, I'm still pretty. In terms of age, we're still on the same page but what about down the road? When you're still looking like you do now and I'm a wrinkly old bag? Are you still going to be attracted to me? Never mind that; Vegeta, you're ambitious. You have plans for the future, I am assuming. You may never live long enough to do the things you want to do and right now that might not matter to you because we still have lots of time together but eventually it may begin to bother you."

"It won't." He said firmly with conviction.

"How could it not, Vegeta?" She asked with just as much firmness. "As my life will begin to come to an end, you will see your end coming prematurely. That isn't fair to you! I'm already nothing more than a burden to you; I'm weak and frail. I may not be able to give you another child, and even if I do, any children, Trunks included, that we have no one will accept them. As much as I dislike your father, he's right on this, Vegeta. He is one hundred percent correct."

"That is how he wants you to feel." He growled. "Do not let him mess with your head."

"Vegeta, you know me; I am smart, confident, well assured. I don't need a man in life to define me or make me feel whole or tell me who I am. I am proud of myself as a person and as a woman." She said, trying to keep her emotions at bay. "The way I feel right now, after speaking with your father this evening, I have never in my life felt so low. Even all that shit we went through never did I feel as useless and out of place as I do right now."

He frowned at her and clenched his jaw in anger. That his father made her feel that bad about herself enraged him.

"I'm out of my element, Vegeta." She said sadly, sniffing. She berated herself, telling herself she would not cry. "I always knew that too, but I just couldn't walk away from you. You're, you were just-"

"Enough." He growled. He did not want her to start crying and continue on with this self-loathing pity party she was throwing. It angered him. Bulma almost never cried, never doubted herself and never displayed such outright weakness as she was right now. That is why he chose her. That she was wallowing in this way over something stupid his father said, while understandable, still disgusted him. "My father said what he did to put a wedge between us. It obviously worked, seeing as how you are carrying on the way you are. Ignore him. This is exactly what he wants."

"Vegeta, this doesn't have anything to do with your father." She said shaking her head and frowning at him at the harsh things he had just said. "Yes it was him who informed me of our differences, but had you or Kakarott or Bardock had told me about this I would still be just as upset as I am right now. Do not blame him. He's an asshole, I'll give I'm that, but you are his son and he has high aspirations for you; I understand it. As a parent, I do. Your father was right; and don't take this the wrong way, but maybe we shouldn't have bonded."

"What do you mean to not take it the wrong way? What other way would you like me to take it?"

She sighed heavily, trying to get her thoughts in order and figure out a way to explain what she meant without deeply offending him. "I love you. I don't regret us being together. I just, I wish there was no bond; and not because I don't like being connected to you mentally and emotionally but because it's going to destroy you in the end. I won't live as long as you could live and knowing that I might drag you down with me really disturbs me and I'm sorry I never thought to inquire about your life span. It honestly never occurred to me. I feel that I'm letting you down, that I'm failing you. I am the worst candidate you could have chosen. I don't like Asia, but she would have been a better choice."

He pushed her away from him, keeping her at arm's length. "I am so tired of this! I do not need him, or you or anyone else second guessing my decisions." he snarled. "I made my choice and that is the end of it. You do not want me to resent you? You are doing a good job of it by your incessant whining over the subject."

"I'm not trying to belittle you or call to question your choices, Vegeta this isn't about that."

"Then what is it about, Woman? I do not understand why you are so upset with me."

"You're more than likely going to die once I do, Vegeta! How can you not understand that? Don't you understand how useless that makes me feel? I'm no good to you! No wonder your father hates me!"

"That would happen whether we had the same life expectancy or not. You could die tomorrow and it would still be a possibility; I know this, you know this. For all I know I will not pass when you do, I may live on; I do not see the point in dwelling on it. Why is this such a big deal now?"

"Because if we were the same, you'd be a cantankerous old man the same time I'm a grouchy old woman; now I'm going to drag you down and you'll die like 40 years earlier than you should."

"You already drag me down!" he snarled back angrily without thinking and regretting the words the moment they came out of his mouth.

Bulma nodded at him and swallowed hard at the lump in her throat.

"It is what you want to hear, is it not? You've kept saying it since your conversation with my father."

She shook her head and reached around him for a towel that was hanging up on the wall behind him and wrapped herself up. "This isn't us, Vegeta." she said quietly. "I don't want to fight with you; I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. I'm sorry I'm such a burden on you; that was never my intent."

He frowned as he watched her leave the bathroom and head to their bedroom. He knew he shouldn't have said what he had; he had not meant it. "I cannot concentrate on anything having you around for fear that something might happen to you. When I am not worried about you I am worried about the brat." he explained angrily as he followed her into their bedroom. "I have your safety and well-being to take into account all the while trying to train and ready an army of men and come up with a battle plan to defeat Cold. This is precisely why I wanted you to remain behind."

"I know," was all she said as she calmly crawled into bed. "I only wanted to come with you to help you and to support you. I guess I was wrong and you were right; I don't know what I was thinking when I insisted you bring us here with you."

Vegeta frowned at her, knowing that her comment was only half serious and half sarcasm. He didn't know what else to say; so far anything he said to her only seemed to anger her more and then began the vicious cycle of him becoming angrier with her and saying hurtful things in retaliation despite knowing that none of this was her fault.

"Are you coming to bed or are you going to stand there and glare at me all night?"

"I do not need this," he growled. "I have enough on my plate to deal with at the moment other than your petulancy." he snarled and left their suite.

Bulma lay in their spacious bed all alone and curled herself into a ball. She didn't cry; she was too upset and angry with him to cry. How had the night become such a disaster she wondered? She hadn't meant to nag at him and upset him the way she had.

She supposed she could have handled herself a little bit better; she knew she was being stupid. She also knew that Vegeta hadn't meant what he had said to her and felt bad that she had pushed him to the point where he felt the need to lash out at her like he had.

They never fought; not like this, anyway and even when they did, he usually wasn't vicious. Since they had come here, though she felt like that was all they did. Either bickering or not speaking at all. She hated it.

Bulma felt her exhaustion begin to kick in; it had been a very long and emotional day. She decided not to dwell on it; Vegeta just needed time to cool off. She knew that. She only hoped that by tomorrow things would be a bit better between them than it was now. She had said a few things herself she wished she hadn't, but how else was she supposed to react?

She sighed as she fell asleep quickly, despite her anxiousness.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7** _

Vegeta walked aimlessly around the palace for almost an hour. He thought on everything that had happened since the last time he had been here; the heated arguments with his father, leaving and finding Bulma alive after thinking her dead all that time.

He thought on how different his life would have been had Frieza not sent him on the mission to Bellatrix to see who was causing issues there. Would he have ever found Bulma? Would he have destroyed Frieza by now he wondered? Probably not. From what he had figured out in the last week his father would have more than likely never had any intention of getting rid of Frieza or the Cold Empire. It angered him. How could his father just be happy to simply continue to go along with Frieza and King Cold's wishes? They were tyrants, only out for their own interests. They didn't give a shit about Vegeta-sei or the Saiyan race; so long as the Saiyans stayed in line and continued to work for them, doing all of their dirty work. Here they had a chance to break free from that and become their own independent race of warriors to do as they wished; good or bad and his father was hesitating. It didn't make sense to him!

He brushed those thoughts to the side, seeing as he was only becoming agitated again over it. He thought back on Bulma. Maybe she was right, maybe he should have told her. On the other hand, what did it matter? He could not have lived his life with her and not bonded to her. The overwhelming need and desire for it would have one day pulled him into this same scenario anyway. He truthfully hadn't thought much on what would happen when she was gone. Some of her statements in their argument were ringing through his mind now. While harsh, some of them were valid concerns.

Would he resent her down the road for not being able to live as long as him?

He hoped not. The rational side of his mind agreeing that since this was not something she could help, how could he resent her for succumbing to the short falls of her own genetic makeup? However, he knew that she may be right. For now he wouldn't resent her but he might begin to later on, slowly as she began to age and slow down and he would not. He had never even thought of that before this evening; in his mind Bulma was his equal in every way that mattered. She was strong mentally and emotionally; that she wasn't physically his equal didn't bother him all that much, only when it came to her safety and not being able to fend for herself in the event of a physical altercation. But what was the point now, he thought bitterly? What was the point of the strongest heart if she would begin to fall apart within a matter of a few decades from now? It wasn't fair, he reasoned. He had not taken the time to consider that possibility. There were so many things he had not thought of until now and it angered him.

After wandering around for some time, Vegeta found himself out in one of the many palace courtyards. It was smaller than some of the others, but spacious with trees and a small pond. Lots of rocks and a small garden of brightly colored and exotic scented flowers his mother used to keep. She used to spend hours out here from what he could remember. He sat down on a bench near by the small pond and let his mind wander. He needed the space and peace and quiet to get his thoughts in order before returning back to Bulma. He did not want to waste his energy fighting with her or end up saying something even more hurtful in his heated state that he could not take back. She did not deserve that.

He was angry.

He knew he was angry, but could not pinpoint where all this anger was coming from; it wasn't aimed in any particular direction, but he was angry all the same and did not know how to properly address it.

He supposed he was angry at his father for behaving the way he had been since he returned with Bulma and Trunks. He wasn't surprised by his father's behavior in the least, but that still did not make it okay. He was angry that his father had upset Bulma so much this evening. If his father wanted someone to be angry at or to lay a guilt trip on, then it should be him. Not Bulma. He could not believe that his father had offered to pay her off to leave him. He wasn't surprised, but he was still angry over it. He was thankful that Bulma wasn't easily bought. He knew she would never leave him, he trusted her and knew that she was loyal to almost a fault when it came to him. However, the way he had treated her as of late, he wouldn't blame her if she had taken his father up on the offer. He had been pushing Bulma away, not intentionally, but he still knew he was doing it. For the most part she had been really good at giving him his space to work through things but it was beginning to wear on her and he knew that wasn't fair to her. She had every right to have said everything that she had to him this evening. None of this was her fault, yet he had been lashing out at her and taking it out on her as though it was.

Vegeta knew it wasn't fair, but he was angry for letting Bulma talk him into bringing her here. He had known that to be a bad idea. There was nothing for her to do here. Or at least nothing until he was sure that no one would cause her any harm. He understood her frustration. She was very independent and not one to be content lazing about for the remainder of her life. He knew that. However, he had also warned her that it was not safe for her to be here on her own. She knew he valued her safety above all else, so why was she making such a big deal over him being adamant on her being careful? He was busy. He did not have time to escort her around all day. She knew that; he had warned her about that. He told himself to not be angry with her over that, but he could not help it.

He was however angry with her over her reaction this evening. Again, he knew he shouldn't be, but he was. He understood her reasons for being upset, he would probably feel the same if the roles were reversed. He would not want her to put herself in a position to end her life over him; but what had pushed him was when she'd said that she wished they didn't have the bond. That was what had made him angry. Once again, he understood her point of view but that didn't make him less upset at her for ripping into him over it. He was angry at her for being angry with him; he was doing the best he could, which apparently was not good enough and this brought him back to his anger on allowing her to convince him to bring them with him in the first place. He had known this would be difficult and so it was proving to be even harder than he had initially thought.

Above all else, he was angry at himself. Returning here had not been wise and he couldn't just pack up Bulma and Trunks to leave and pick up where they had left off. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to get on with his life, this is where he belonged; but Bulma wasn't happy. Neither was he if he was really honest with himself. Things had been so much easier when it had been just the two of them. They had been happy; but despite all that, he had just felt that he was missing something in his life. So he decided to return home and brought Bulma and Trunks with him knowing it was not a good idea. Truth be told, he could not imagine his life without them in it.

Was it so much for him to ask to want both his mate and son in his life and to want to take his place where he belonged? He didn't think it was so bad, but already one week here he was having difficulty finding a way to balance both. Things were quickly spiraling out of control. He knew he was almost unbearable to be around these past few days. He had been neglectful of both Bulma and Trunks. In his inability to know how to handle it all, he distanced himself and knew that was the wrong thing to do, yet he did it anyway.

He also knew his behavior towards his father was unreasonable at best but he didn't know how else to be with him? The man was impossible.

Vegeta snarled and buried his head in his hands as these thoughts just continued on and on, scrolling through his mind. The anger, doubt, second guessing and self-belittlement doing nothing but make him feel like he was nothing more than a failure. He did not want to lose Bulma or spend their life here constantly bickering like they had been. Tonight was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Not only because his father had announced his return, but because it was the first night since they'd had Trunks that they could be alone, together just like it had been before. When Kakarott had told him that his parents had volunteered to care for Trunks for the evening, he had made every intention of making this a nice evening for the two of them.

Bulma had certainly made the effort. She had looked nothing less than stunning and he had never been more proud or content to have her at his side. Instead, he had spent the entire evening being miserable and being angry at Bulma over everything. What was he even doing here, he wondered to himself? They had a whole evening together to themselves being that they didn't need to pick up Trunks until later on in the morning and here he was sitting by himself outside, contemplating all the reasons he was so angry at the universe instead of making the most out of the rare alone time he and Bulma had. He could be enjoying himself with her right now, but instead he had stormed out in anger and now here he was, feeling worse than he had when he had left her there in their room.

He decided he had wasted enough time this evening. None of this was her fault and now that he had calmed down somewhat, he decided to head back. Hopefully she would still have him.

It did not take him long to make it back to his quarters.

He shrugged out of his clothing and made his way to bed where she was already asleep curled up on her side. He crawled in and carefully wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him so that they were spooning. She stirred at being moved and sleepily laced her fingers with his hand under her waist. "Woman," he whispered into her ear, wanting her to wake up.

"Hmm?" she mumbled back, still half asleep.

"I am sorry," he said against her ear.

"I know," she said. "So am I."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said, rubbing her side up and down and back again gently with his free hand.

"I know," she snickered as she felt his tail brush up the inside of her thigh. "But I still shouldn't have said some of the things that I did; I over reacted."

He buried his face in the back of her neck as he kissed and nipped her gently from her neck to her jawline, inhaling her scent as he went. She sighed as his hand dipped in between her legs, gently caressing her as he let his hands roam and explore her body as though it was their first time all over again. She arched her hips against him lazily, teasing his already erect member. He loved waking her up this way; touching and teasing her body as she slept and slowly woke up, turned on and wanting him. They would usually spend a while just touching and caressing each other slowly, taking their time until their need built up into such a frenzy that neither one of them could stand it any longer and then gave into each other completely. The frustration and need for completion making the release so amazing; nothing could compare to it.

Her breath hitched sharply as he brushed his fingers lightly against her clit. He then inserted a finger inside her slowly and she stretched her body so that it lay parallel with his, giving him easier access to play with her. As his fingers pleasured her, she reached back behind her to grip him, but he took her hand away and placed it back in front of her on the bed so that he could solely concentrate on her. His tail took up where his hand had left off, brushing its way teasingly at her entrance.

He did not pleasure her very often with his tail, but he knew she loved it when he did. He let it brush along her clit a few times before inserting just the tip of it inside of her, eliciting an appreciative moan of surprise at the intrusion and arched her hips back against his.

"You like that?" he growled in her ear, his own arousal throbbing, but he wanted her to reach completion first before seeking out pleasure for himself. This was something he had never done with her. He had teased her with his tail on occasion, but never used it quite in this way before like this.

She nodded and moaned a sound that he took to be affirmative. He let her hand go as he brought it back between her legs, stroking her clit slowly again as his tail inched its way just a little further into her before he pulled it out and then penetrated her again, slowly.

Bulma turned her face back towards him, catching his lips and kissed him as he continued his pleasurable assault on her body; loving every moment of it. As she felt her climax building quickly inside her, she managed to reach up behind her and run her fingers through his hair. She gasped as she felt him inch his tail into her just a little deeper this time. "Don't stop," she pleaded, biting her lower lip and tipped her head back, exposing the length of her neck to him.

She cried out as she came, trembling against him as the weaves of pleasure enveloped her entire being from the inside out. As soon as she could, she awkwardly turned herself around in his arms, facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her body completely flush against his. "I'm sorry for being angry, Vegeta." she murmured into his neck as she kissed him everywhere and clung to him as he wrapped his tail firmly around her waist, keeping her close.

"Forget about it," he replied, pushing against her so that he was on top of her. She hitched a leg around his hip as he sunk himself deeply into her, kissing her within an inch of her life. He did not want to discuss things anymore or dwell on losing her.

She moaned quietly into his mouth, kissing him back hungrily; she was still upset at him over things, now that she was fully awake and had returned to her senses, but she needed him.

He broke their kiss as he pulled out of her slowly, leaving only the tip of his member inside her. Resting his forehead against hers, locking eyes with her in an intense stare down, he finally slid back into her at an almost agonizingly slow pace.

She sighed as he filled her up and looked right back at him. She knew he was still upset with her too for the way she had reacted this evening. She supposed they had both reached a stale mate on the issue seeing as there was nothing that could be done about it now; she was upset at him for not telling her things and for selling himself short just to be with her and he was angry with her for being angry about it. It wasn't something they could work through or resolve now that they were mated and bonded so why fight about it she reasoned? More than anything she didn't want this to drive a wedge between them.

He didn't move for a moment; just savored the feel of her, the tightness and warmth between her thighs drawing him in. He knew he would never tire of her, no matter how many times they did this or old she would become. He would always want her.

He pulled out of her again, slowly and then drove back into her a little faster, causing her to cry out in pleasure as his member touched her insides at just the right angle.

Vegeta smirked at her, knowing he was hitting her at just the right spot and knowing she would want him to quicken his pace in order to bring her to her peak again quickly; he knew her body that well, but he wanted to make her wait. Since they had arrived on Vegeta-sei their intimate time, while revived thanks to Bardock and the shot he had given her to prevent pregnancy, had been clumsy and rushed. They had not engaged in foreplay. They had kept their encounters quick and rushed to get fulfillment because he was either too tired from training and meetings or Trunks would wake up and interrupt them. So they had only focused on quick gratification and release.

Now that they had an evening free to themselves without Trunks and without possible interruptions, they decided to make the most of it.

He continued to rock his hips slowly into and out of her, making love to her the way he knew she liked it; he was in no hurry and neither was she. He only wanted to lose himself in the mind numbing pleasure that never failed to envelop his senses during their coupling.

That was just what they did. They put all other matters on hold and only focused on each other. Tomorrow would be here soon enough and they would once again be faced with the realities of life.

-0-0-0-

Hope that was alright… Please shoot me a review! It makes my day. Really, it does!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys! I had a horrible case of writer’s block with this chapter. I’m actually done most of the next bit and have it written out already, go figure. But could not come up with anything awesome for this one so I have struggled with this chapter and I split it in two cause there’s one bit I am still working on and it doesn’t want to come to me…. So I wanted to get something out for you guys since you’ve been patiently waiting forever..  
> Anyway, please enjoy!

**_Chapter 8_ **

Bulma laid back in contentment against Vegeta in the huge bathtub in their washroom as the warm water washed over them. She sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against his shoulder.

They’d had every intention of sleeping in this morning since Trunks was with Kakarott’s family but they both found themselves wide awake, bright and early. Being that sleep would not return to either one of them, Bulma talked Vegeta out of going to train and just enjoying the morning together before they had to go pick up Trunks.

Vegeta had reluctantly agreed.

Now here they sat, together in companionable silence, enjoying each other’s company and relaxing in the hot water and soothing scents of the soaps and oils Bulma had chosen. “We should do this more often,” she murmured.

“Hmmmn,” he grunted in agreement, running his hand gently along her arm, cupping the water and letting it run down her arm. He was still contemplating the events of last night. They had put a hold on the issues at hand and had lost themselves in one another all night but now that the morning was here and they were awake, the issues that had presented themselves last night felt like they were crashing down upon him again in roaring clarity.

He had said things to her last night that he had not meant. He had been angry at the situation and angry at his father and the way things had been going in general since their return and last night it had come to a head and he had wrongfully taken it out on her. His father had dropped a few startling revelations to her and in her reaction to it, she had lashed out at him. He did not blame her for her reaction, but now he was forced to face something he had hoped he would not have to consider for a few decades.

Vegeta frowned at the thought as he sat with her in his arms, her small, delicate form leaning into him. It troubled him that he would do everything he could to protect her from everything and anything but the one thing he would not be able to protect her from was the aging process. Since it had come up last night, he kept telling himself that it did not matter and that it would not bother him once she visibly began to age and he hoped he had the strength then to not push her away or be wrongfully angry with her over something she could not control. There was no point and nothing that could be done about it now. Truthfully, if he could go back and change his choices, he really did not want to anyway. He would deal with it when the time came and hoped he would not be unfair to her. In the meantime, they should enjoy the many years they would hopefully have together.

“What did you mean last night when you told me to not trust my father?” he asked her, suddenly; not wanting to think about her aging anymore. It was nothing more than a fruitless waste of time.  

She shrugged and shook her head, unsure if she should tell him of her suspicions or not; she hated that she wasn’t sure if she should be honest with him on this or not. What if she was wrong? The relationship between Vegeta and his father was strained at best; what if she made it worse by voicing her concern? That was the last thing she wanted to do.

“What else did he say to you?” he asked again.

“Just a bunch of stuff in trying to convince me to leave,” she sighed, trying to find a way to tell him to be careful without calling his father out on possibly sabotaging his son. “I’m sure he’d say just about anything to make me leave you.”

“On the balcony last night; after he spoke with you, you told me to not trust him,” he reminded her. “What did you mean by that?”

“I don’t know, Vegeta,” she answered awkwardly. “I don’t know enough… You need to let me in on what’s going on with this business with King Cold. It has to do with that and I don’t know enough about that to even make a judgement like that about your father; I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

He was silent a few moments before relenting. “Within a few weeks, I will be leaving to face him. He is currently rallying the other side of the galaxy against us. Our plan is to go after him quickly, now, while he is still unprepared.”

“And how do you know he’s unprepared?”

“At the moment, his troops are scattered all across the galaxy in search of me,” he answered. “I am a wanted fugitive; he is obsessed with finding me and is foolishly taking his time in getting his shit together instead of launching an attack on Vegeta-sei like he would be if he was smart. Cold is strong, like his son was; but he has nowhere near the cunning strategic skills Frieza had.”

“Alright, but how do you know that?” she asked again. “What if he’s ready and waiting for you to come to him?”

“My father has spoken with him and has convinced the fool that he is searching the galaxy for me as well and willing to turn me into him as a way of apology and a peace agreement for my slaying his son.”

She nodded in understanding.

“We have it on good authority Cold’s location and that he currently only has a very small number of his army with him,” he continued. “The rest are scattered in an attempt to gather more planets on their side or are searching for me. I only need to go there and finish him.”

“And you think it’s just going to be that easy? That he doesn’t think that maybe you’ve caught wind of this and may show up?” she asked. “What if it’s not that easy?”

“What are you not telling me?”

“Are you sure you can trust this information? What if you’re father has made a different deal with him?” she asked. “What if you’re being set up?”

“I doubt it. However, I will wait another week or so before making my move against him,” he said. “Kakarott will remain behind here to watch over you and Trunks in my absence; I will not leave until I know that you and Trunks will be kept safe in the event that things do not go my way.”

She nodded and swallowed hard. “I still don’t like it, Vegeta. I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“You doubt me and my abilities?”

“No, Vegeta.” She insisted. “But we just got here. You’re so caught up in your training and trying to prove something to everyone that I don’t think you’re being as prudent as you should be. I think you’re going into this half-cocked. Is your father going with you on this campaign?”

He chuckled as though she had told the funniest joke he had heard in a long time. “Woman, my father has not accompanied me on a mission since I was six years old. As it is, I have surpassed him by so much that his presence would only be a liability.”

“Alright,” she whispered. “You know this stuff, I don’t.”

“You are still troubled,” he said, shifting somewhat so that he could look at her. “What did he say to you?”

“Nothing, exactly.” She answered, shaking her head. “Since I told him that I would refuse to leave you, he advised me to ensure both mine and Trunks’ safety now in the event something happened to you. It’s not bad advice, but it was just the way he said it is all; I’m just worried he’s setting you up if I don’t leave you.”

“And if you do leave? Then what?” he scoffed. “This will all simply go away?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say and I didn’t ask.” she admitted. “I was already too upset over the other little bombshell he dropped on me.”

“I can assure you, nothing is going to happen to me, Woman.” he said. “Even if he is setting me up, which I highly doubt, I will be going over there with my best men; all of which I trust implicitly. They are strong, sensible and battle experienced. I am leaving Kakarott behind with you with specific plans should anything happen. I will not leave without ensuring you and Trunks will be alright should I fail.

“There will be a ship ready for you in case of emergency and you are to leave here. I do not care what you are doing or what you think is best, you are to take the boy and leave. Go to your parents. If need be go pick them up and find someplace safe to reside if you do not feel safe on Callisto.”

“Can we not just get out now and leave?” she asked, knowing that he would not agree.

“And where would we go? Cold is exhausting every possible resource in pursuit of me.”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, her voice catching in emotional frustration. “Why can’t things just be normal? Like I said to your father last night: All I want is to spend my life with you and Trunks and be happy. Why does it always have to be something; someone threatening me? Some big bad that you have to go after? Doesn’t anyone in your race or in this universe find it exhausting to always constantly be at odds? You told me that life wouldn’t be easy and I accepted that, but my god, Vegeta! Coming back here was the worst thing we did, and I’m not blaming you, I’m not. I’m just exhausted, and I am afraid.

“I’m afraid for you that something may happen and I might lose you; I know you don’t like to hear that, but I am afraid for you. I’m afraid for Trunks and what kind of universe I’ve brought him into and I’m afraid for myself that I won’t make the right decisions. If I don’t, that will affect you and then what will happen to Trunks? I know you have a lot to deal with, but those are some of my thoughts and what I am dealing with.”

He didn’t say anything to her; what could he say?

“I’m sorry,” she said, turning around awkwardly in his arms. “You’re right. Everything will be fine, I just need to quit being pathetic. I’m just worried about you.”

He nodded and held her close.

“Can you show me around a bit before we have to go get Trunks?” she asked, changing the subject all together to something hopefully lighter. “Is there somewhere that I can go to work with Aro? Someplace other than here that I can spend the afternoon with Trunks? Someplace I can even just pack up my work and go elsewhere for a change of scenery; I’m so bored, Vegeta.”

He nodded briefly. “I was considering that last night when I left briefly.”

“Really?”

“Hmmn,” he grunted. “Let’s go. Bring the dog.” he said, getting out of the tub.

Bulma smiled as she followed him out and got herself dressed for the day. She got Aro hooked up and off they went.

**_Meanwhile…_ **

“That bitch is smart,” the king growled at his advisor. They had both gotten up first thing to get together for an early morning meeting. “I would not put it past her to let him in on her suspicions that we are setting Vegeta up.”

“What did you tell her?” Paragus asked.

“Nothing definitive or incriminating,” he shrugged. “But she suspects; she isn’t some random, mindless wench with a pretty face. She is smart and already put the pieces together.”

“Do you think Vegeta would believe her if she did run off to tell him?”

“Probably.” the king snorted.

“His loyalty to her and hers to him seems to be genuine,” Paragus commented thoughtfully. “It will be no simple task to come between them. I must admit that I greatly underestimated her and the hold she has on him.”

“We all underestimated her.”

“So how do we proceed?”

“I think the best plan is to continue on as is,” the King said after a moment’s consideration. “Even if my son does believe her suspicions that he is being set up, he is arrogant enough to believe that it doesn’t matter and that he can still beat Cold.”

“You may be right,” Paragus agreed. “But what if he does suspect something, takes his family and leaves, then what? We cannot afford to lose this war. If Vegeta does not pursue and fall to Cold, then _we_ , as an entire race and the planet as a whole, are done for.”

“I know!” The King snapped at his advisor. The more they discussed the plan, the more he was second guessing it. It had seemed to be the answer at the time when he had first learned of Vegeta’s return to Vegeta-sei but now that he was here, the king found himself beginning to regret and question his decision regarding his son.

“Cold will not walk away from this until either Vegeta has paid for his actions against Lord Frieza or the entire planet and the rest of us are destroyed,” Paragus continued, beginning to sense the King’s indecision. “Do you think it is fair for the rest of the planet and empire to suffer because of Vegeta’s rash decisions? I understand that he is your son, but you need to look at this objectively.”

The king simply nodded, knowing that his advisor was right. While this would not be the easiest thing to do, it was the best solution. Vegeta had failed him and would continue to do so if he did not follow through on this plan. He had spent many months buttering up Cold and convincing him that he would hand over his one and only son in exchange for having their empire and planet left alone.

“Send Asia with him on the mission.” Paragus suggested suddenly.

“She is queen and mother to my heir.” The king objected.

“Understood, however if Vegeta suspects that he is being set up, sending Asia will possibly convince him that the mission will be a success and that nothing is wrong.”

“Alright and what is to become of her once Vegeta has been apprehended?”

Paragus shrugged. “We can fill Cold in on the details and I am sure she will be returned safely. Cold has no use for her.”

“That’s true.” the King nodded. Though there was no love lost between the king and his mate, he did not want to deal with raising another child on his own again; especially a child that was proving to not be of any use and had shown no potential greatness that he could see.

“It is settled.” Paragus nodded. “I shall inform her immediately.”

“And what are we with do with the girl and her brat?” the King asked.

“They will be detained.” Paragus replied after considering it a moment. “The girl obviously has her uses. She is intelligent. Perhaps she can be swayed to assist us in advancing our technology.”

“I gave Vegeta my word that she and the child would not be harmed while they are here.”

“Exactly, and you can use her loyalties to him to persuade her to work for us; especially once Vegeta is in King Cold’s care.”

King Vegeta nodded, though was frowning heavily. “You are certain that should Vegeta face Cold that he will not return?”

“Absolutely.” Paragus nodded. “Cold is currently residing on the small planet of Isotope, as I have already mentioned to your son. What Vegeta is not aware of, is that Cold has been building a very heavy military garrison there and is currently awaiting a visit from Yours Truly. Once Vegeta has arrived, he will be heavily outnumbered and should be easily detained. Why do you ask, my king?”

“Should there be a chance that Vegeta succeeds, once he knows that we have imprisoned his mate and have set him up, he will return here and he will be out for blood; you know that, don’t you? There will be no stopping him from annihilating us all. He _has_ ascended. I cannot stand up to him.”

Paragus shrugged nonchalantly, trying to not smile or give away a secret only he knew. Little did the Saiyan king know that his son was not the only Saiyan in the empire with a ridiculously high power and it would not be long before he was shown first hand another strong Saiyan male who would wipe all of them out with minimal effort. “We will have to exercise caution,” he agreed. “However, I am confident that Cold will be able to handle him. He _has_ had enough notice that Vegeta will be headed his way shortly and we will not make a move against the girl until Vegeta is in Cold’s custody on the off chance he does succeed.”

King Vegeta nodded. “Very well,” was all he said.

“I will inform Asia that she will be departing with the Prince.” Paragus said, quietly dismissing himself from the King’s private study. It would only be a few weeks now! Within a few very short weeks, this empire would be his to rule and control.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta showed Bulma around the palace briefly after they had left his quarters for the morning. He explained the meanings and ancestral history behind some of the statues and paintings as they made their way down the halls. Most were bloody depictions of war; paintings of great victories won by his grandfather, great grandfather and several generations previous. Each one told a different story and she found herself quite fascinated with the history of Vegeta’s family.

“So, one day will there be a painting up here of you slaying Frieza?” she asked.

“Hmmn,” he nodded. “It is now a part of the Saiyan race’s history, I suppose.”

She nodded as she looked at the different pictures. It was uncanny the resemblance of the royal line; all of the kings for the past eight to ten generations looked the same. Sure there were minor differences here and there that distinguished them apart from each other but it was unmistakable they were all related.

There was another depiction that caught her eye and that was of a golden god-like Saiyan that resembled Vegeta to a T. “Is that the first Super Saiyan?” she asked. “I remember when we first met you telling me that no one had achieved it in a thousand years.”

“Hmmn,” he nodded. “That was the first king Vegeta; the first of our line and the Saiyan responsible for our independence and great victory over the Tuffle race.”

Bulma nodded. Vegeta had mentioned things here and there but none of it made a whole lot of sense until now as she looked at the paintings on the walls; each one a secession over the last, telling the complete story of the Saiyan race.

She walked ahead further and looked at the familiar painting of the Royal family. She remembered it from last time when she had first arrived here. She had been walking with Kakarott and she had enquired about it. There was a statue of Vegeta’s father and a new picture of the king and Asia next to the previous picture of the former Royal family.

“Your mother was beautiful,” she said, looking at the painting again.

“She was,” he agreed only glancing briefly at the portrait.

“And what a cutie you were. What happened?” she added jokingly.

“I got myself involved with a complicated woman.”

“Hey, I’m not complicated.” she whined. “So when will they put a picture of you up here in all your Super Saiyan glory?”

He shrugged. “Probably not until I take the throne.”

“But I thought your ascension was a big deal?”

“It is, but we are in the middle of trying to prevent a war.”

“I guess,” she nodded and they continued onward down the palace hallways.

Vegeta introduced her to several of the guards that she would encounter frequently if she was to be wandering the palace on her own. He advised them all that she be looked after as though she were one of their own and they all seemed more than happy to oblige, much to Bulma’s surprise.

After a little while Vegeta finally lead her into a large courtyard; both were thankful that it was empty. Bulma smiled at Vegeta. It was perfect! There was nothing in the middle. Just thick grass and a few trees on the outside; no obstructions, and completely closed off by what looked to be a twelve foot stone wall all around the perimeter of the yard. Bulma estimated it was about the size of a hockey arena.

“It’s like a whole working field, Vegeta!” she exclaimed, letting Aro off his leash.

“There are many courtyards throughout the palace,” he nodded. “This one is for sparring, which is why it is so plain. My mother used it for sword play; because of its location, it is not frequently used. I like to use it for meditating.”

“Ahh, so this is where I can find you in the middle of the night, huh?” she asked teasingly.

“Hmmn,” he grunted. “You may come here during the day with Trunks and the dog; no one will bother you.”

“I love it! Thank you!” she gushed, wrapping her arms around his and kissing him. “I need to start working him again. I’ll need to set up some blinds and find the capsules with my protection stuff, oh Vegeta! I’m so excited! Aro is going to be so much happier!”

“Good, because my sole purpose in life is to make sure the damned dog is content,” he deadpanned.

“You know it is!” She teased back, taking Aro’s ball out of her pocket and tossing it.

Aro took off down the length of the field in pursuit of it like a shot. He returned a few short moments later with it in his mouth, dropping it at their feet.

Bulma picked it up and smiled. “Get in,” she said to him and he very quickly took to her left side, sitting perfectly straight, looking at her and anticipating her next command. “Heel.” She said and began to walk with him slowly at first, then quickened her pace for several steps before slowing to almost a crawling walk. Despite the many months of having not been worked properly, he did not falter.

As Bulma continued to work a few basic drills with Aro, Asia walked into the courtyard, carrying her son. “What are you guys doing here, and what the hell is she doing with that beast _thing_?”

Vegeta turned and scowled at her. “I do not require permission to enter these premises. I go where I please.”

“You guys left early last night,” she commented coming to stand next to him. “What did your father have to say to her last night? He was in a pissier mood than usual after that.”

Vegeta contemplated answering her or not for a moment. “He tried to bribe her into leaving me.”

“Oh, really?” Asia snorted. “It didn’t work, I take it?”

“Of course it did not, you idiot!” Vegeta snapped at her. “What is it you want?”

“Oh, I want lots of things,” she sighed. “I only came out this morning to spend some time with Tarble, is all.”

Vegeta nodded and briefly glanced at the infant. “He is the same age as Trunks?”

“I don’t know, actually. I think he’s a month or so younger. He’s three months old.” she answered, smiling at the awake, but quiet baby in her arms. “Can I ask you something?”

“If you must,”

“Have you started working with your son?” she asked. “Like not training, but exposing him to energy?”

“By the time Trunks was three months, yes,” he answered. “I began exposing him small amounts of ki; he can hang onto the smallest ki ball if he fixates on it, though only for a very short period of time.”

“And he doesn’t mind it?”

“No, he rather enjoys it, actually. He cries when I am finished.” he replied, looking awkwardly at her and the baby.

“At least you put in the time,” she snorted. “Your father couldn’t be bothered giving him a second glance since his birth.”

Vegeta shrugged, not knowing what to say. “I have not been as attentive as the woman would like since we returned here,” he admitted.

“Where is he?” she asked.

“We will be leaving to get him shortly,” he said noncommittally, not wanting to elaborate.

She nodded and rolled her eyes at his non-answer but did not press him further, taking the hint that he was not all together comfortable with her presence, never mind conversing casually with her.

Vegeta stood there and looked at the baby again, unsure how to react; what he should or should not say. It was not the most ideal situation. Technically this tiny infant was his half-brother. He was not sure if he should shun that or accept it. He wanted to dismiss it completely, but curiosity got the better of him as he looked at the small infant. He already had thick dark hair and features, he shared the deep widows peak both he and his father had; a mark of the royal line. He resembled his father in an almost uncanny manor and supposed it would not take long and he would look like him as well. His strength level however, was almost nonexistent in terms of where a Saiyan child should be. “He is not strong,” he said suddenly to her without thinking; it was more of an observation than anything else.

Rather than taking offence to his comment, Asia nodded and looked at her son closely, her features clouding over somewhat in concern. “I know,” she replied. “Your son has more promise already. Ironic, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” he nodded, again, unsure of what to say. “However, you have nothing to fear where I am concerned so long as you do not seek to harm Bulma or Trunks.”

“Yes, because that’s my top priority these days, Vegeta,” she said dryly.

“Is it not?” he challenged her, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

“No, it’s not,” she admitted. “I have bigger things to worry about, I’m afraid. Making sure your father doesn’t decide to put this guy down if he does not begin to show some improvement in the next few months is one of them. One good thing about you coming back when you did, he’s obsessed with this business with you battling Cold that he has barely given his son, or me for that matter, a second thought.”

“You think he would harm his own heir?” Vegeta asked, unsure if the notion surprised him or not.

“I think he would, yes.” she answered immediately and confidently. “What do you think _really_ happened to your little brother, Vegeta?”

Vegeta scowled at her. “He was premature and died because of birthing complications.”

“Right, that’s what everyone was told,” she snorted. “But it is a well-known fact that he was born weak, possibly weaker than this little guy is what I heard.”

“Do you have any evidence to support these ridiculous claims?” he growled at her. “Or is this just another rumor your father has spread to turn public opinion against my father?”

Asia shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me one bit. I suppose at this point, it really doesn’t matter one way or another but so long as he leaves Tarble alone, what do I care?”

“If you are concerned about such things, then you would be wise to send him away.”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Then that would make room for your son. Why don’t you send yours away?”

“Believe me, if the time comes where I feel they are unsafe, I will not hesitate to send them off some place safe.”

“Then why don’t you now?”

“Because right now I do not believe they are in any immediate danger.”

“You know, you could send them both away and you and I could get rid of your father and create an heir of our own. The result could be quite fruitful.” She suggested, more in a light of wishful thinking then any actual seriousness.

“I would do no such thing.” he replied absolutely, shaking his head in disgust.

“Seriously?” Bulma interrupted, standing only a few feet away. “Trying to steal my husband while I’m within walking distance? Wow, you are incorrigible; I thoroughly underestimated you and stupidly thought that maybe you had changed.”

Asia shrugged. “I suppose I ought to congratulate you. Apparently he is more loyal to you than I thought. I mean, could you really blame me? His father would accept such an offer from anyone, forgetting me entirely. How was I to know that the son is not the same?”

“That’s not my problem,” Bulma said shortly to her. “I’m sorry you are stuck in a horrible situation, I really am, but attempting to destroy my life isn’t going to help.”

“It isn’t?” Asia baited. “If I recall, it was _you_ who-”

“Enough!” Vegeta growled. “Let’s go.”

Bulma leashed up Aro and off they went. “We will take the dog back to my quarters and leave to go and get Trunks.” he said.

Asia sighed in annoyance as they left. She could not help but feel angry and resentful for her predicament. Here was the only man in the world she had ever wanted and he was unswayable in his attentions towards his mate. While admirable, why couldn’t she have that?

 _It isn’t fair!_ She raged to herself. She was about to blast a tree that was growing to her left but noticed someone quietly enter the courtyard moments later. “What do you want?” she asked irritably.

“Your father sent me to find you.” Broly replied.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “What now? I thought he brought you here to be his new puppy to follow around and do his bidding.”

Broly didn’t reply.

“Why don’t you go back to wherever it was you came from?”

“I would like to but have been told I am wanted here.”

“Why was that again?” Asia asked, turning to look at him. “I’ve only met you a handful of times throughout my life and Father never mentioned you ever before and now here you are; following him around and following me around like a lost dog. It’s annoying.”

Broly shrugged. “I have yet to know myself, but I was told that I am to enlist as an Elite Soldier to assist Prince Vegeta in this upcoming war.”

“Then go train or something,” she suggested in irritation. “Go and do something useful with your time other than follow me around. It’s creepy.”

“I do not know anyone else,” he objected.

“Well you barely know me, so scratch me off your list. I know, go and make friends with Bulma. You two seemed chummy last night,” she said with a chuckle. “The both of you being social rejects and not belonging here at all; there you go, you both have something in common.”

Broly frowned at her. “Bulma seems to be a nice girl. I do not understand your hatred and contempt for her. What has she ever done to you?”

“She stole what was supposed to me mine. _I_ was supposed to be Prince Vegeta’s mate,” she said bitterly. “Not her.”

Broly frowned at her and shrugged. “Well, you are the mate of the king. I don’t see why that is so bad.”

“Ugh, what would _you_ know?” she snorted. “Here, make yourself useful and take him back to the nursery. Let the matron know that I will be by later on in the afternoon to see him again.” She said, handing Tarble to Broly.

“I will,” he nodded, holding the small baby close and looking at him.

Asia stormed out of the courtyard, wanting to get this meeting with her father over and done with as quickly as possible. She was so annoyed with his constant scheming and trying to control her. She used to believe that he did all of this for her because he wanted the best for her, but she had begun to feel like she was nothing more than a pawn in his quest for whatever it was he wanted.

It was always about what he wanted, never what she wanted and she had done everything he had always asked of her and look where it had gotten her? Mated to someone who she could not even stand to be around. Sure, she was queen but it wasn’t like she had ever thought it would be. It was boring. Her only use, it seemed, had been to produce an heir and she seemed to be stuck doing all the things her mate could not be bothered with. Truthfully, if she could go back and tell her father off, she would in a minute.

“You wanted to see me?” she announced as she walked into her father’s office without knocking.

“I did,” he replied, not looking up from whatever it was he was doing.

“What now?” she asked. “I was enjoying a quiet morning with my son.”

“I will make this brief then; you will be accompanying Prince Vegeta on his mission to defeat King Cold.”

“What? Why?” She exclaimed suspiciously. “Who will look after Tarble if I am gone?”

“I am sure that will be left to the palace maid who watches over the majority of the time anyway.” Paragus shrugged, uninterested.

“Okay, but why are you sending me with Vegeta?”

“I would have thought that you would be pleased with this turn of events.”

“I am, but I still do not understand this. It makes no sense,” she shrugged. “He can barely stand to talk to me for five seconds, why would you send me along on a mission with him where we have to speak to each other and work together.”

“Because a scenario has finally come up that the outcome will be in your best interests; things are finally beginning to fit into place, my dear.” Paragus answered calmly, putting his papers aside. “Is the door closed?”

“Yea,” she nodded after sliding the deadbolt.  

“Good,” Paragus said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. “Now here is the plan: Within a week or two, Vegeta will be leaving to conquer King Cold and you will be accompanying him. It is the King’s plan to dispose of Vegeta’s woman and brat during this time,”

“He won’t do that,” Asia interrupted him. “He fears Vegeta and Vegeta already threatened his life if anything what so ever happens to either of them. He’s not that stupid. Even if he stages it to look like an accident, Vegeta will end him and he believes that.”

“Very well; however in any case, I will see to it that they are eliminated permanently. The details don’t matter all that much. All that matters is that Vegeta will blame his father and do away with him for us.

“Therefore, he will be king and will require a queen and how convenient that you are already filling that position and with his woman and brat completely out of the picture, you won’t have to compete for his attentions. It will be as simple as that.”

“With Bulma gone or not, he will never agree to that.” she said dejectedly. “I ran into him this morning and briefly talked to him and he can barely manage to be cordial. He hates me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Paragus suggested. “I am sending you with him on this war campaign for a purpose. Firstly, since you will be present on that mission and therefore off of Vegeta-sei. You will by no means be implicated in the demise of his little family that he cares so much for. Should you be here when it happened, he won’t care if you are directly involved or not. Everyone knows that you despise Bulma so you and the King will be the prime suspects.

“Secondly, you will be working closely, alongside him during this war. This will be your time to shine. Use the time well. I know you are an amazing warrior. Unfortunately, Vegeta has never seen that side of you. This will be a good thing and will be your opportunity to catch his attention.” Paragus said knowingly as though it was already a sure thing.

“I agree, but I don’t think he’s going to care about whether or not I am a great warrior or arm candy,” she huffed. “Look at who he’s stuck with. He doesn’t care about that obviously.”

“Or so you think,” he shrugged. “He has not found himself in a situation where he has to work closely with another, especially a woman warrior. You are smart; I raised you to be smart, to be able to think on your feet in any situation and to have battle sense. You have proven yourself to be a brilliant warrior and tactician over the years in any mission you have ever been sent on. It is only a shame that Vegeta never had a chance to work alongside you while the two of you were growing up. I am sure had he seen that side to you, he would have no doubt chosen you.”

“That’s what I always thought.” She agreed.

“Well, now is your chance to make it right. It would not be the first time a male who was mated and bonded to another’s attentions and affections shifted while on a mission with another female warrior who could hold her own. A man as strength driven as Vegeta will have to appreciate your talents and no doubt find that attractive especially since the one he has chosen is weaker than even the weakest Saiyan child.”

“Alright,” Asia nodded and smiled at the idea that she possibly still had a chance to gain Vegeta’s attention and affections but for some reason didn’t think it would be as easy as that. “But if they are bonded won’t that be putting him at risk?”

“We will be doing him a favor and he will no doubt be distressed over the loss of the girl, but he will in time come to realize that you are a more appropriate choice.” he replied, waving his hand in dismissal. “I don’t believe that Vegeta is so weak as to allow himself to succumb to such a thing as a broken bond; look at his father.”

Asia nodded in agreement but wasn’t sure if this was a great plan or not. Sure she had wanted to be with Vegeta more than anything in the universe, but if everything worked out the way her father expected it to, wouldn’t she just be trading one bad scenario in for another? She was already stuck with someone that did not want her; she was not so dense as to not know that her relationship now was strictly out of convenience than anything else and she hated her life at the moment. So would it still be the same situation, only potentially worse if she and Vegeta did end up together? He didn’t want her, he never had. At least his father didn’t seem to have any feeling towards her one way or another. He didn’t care for her but he certainly did not despise her. They lived their own separate lives for the most part and only came together for the sake of appearances. She had given up on wanting anything more from him and had come to hate him more than she ever thought possible to hate someone. The only good part of this plan that she could see was her finally being free of him but at what cost?

She wished she shared her father’s optimism on the outcome but found herself questioning his motives. Once again, she suspected she was being used as a pawn to further whatever hidden agenda he had and she didn’t like it.

“And what if everything goes accordingly but Vegeta still wants nothing to do with me. Then what?” she asked suddenly before she could catch herself.

Paragus shrugged. “He won’t have much say in the matter. You are the current queen. He cannot replace you even if he wants to. You also have provided an heir. There is nothing he can do about it.”

Asia nodded but didn’t say anything, still in deep thought. Several months ago, she would have been elated to hear this news. At the moment she wasn’t sure what to feel. While she wanted to hold out hope that maybe _finally_ after all this time she may end up with someone she felt was worth of her affections and someone that she would do almost anything in the universe to make happy, the other more rational side of her was telling her that this was another dead end.

“When do we leave?” she asked her father.

“Within a week or two,” he answered. “I take it you are pleased with this news and will utilize your time well?”

Asia nodded in reply. “I will, father.”

“Good. That settles things then. If I were you, I would go and start training; brush up on your combat skills, you are going to need them if you are to catch Vegeta’s attention.”

“And to ensure my safe return to be able to care for my son.” she added, shooting her father an icy look.

“Right, that too.” he agreed.

Asia didn’t comment any further before she left her father’s office. She wanted to go out and brood for a bit but then decided her father suggestion to begin training was not entirely a bad idea. She needed to bow off some steam and she hadn’t set foot in the training grounds since she was about half way through her pregnancy with Tarble.

-0-0-0-

“I am not impressed, Vegeta.”  Bulma said once they had made their way back into Vegeta’s quarters.

“It is what it is.” he shrugged.

“Seriously? Is that what I need to worry about all day now?” she asked, a little louder and upset sounding than she meant to be. “That she’s trying to sway your attentions?”

“No,” he shrugged. “You have nothing to worry about where she is concerned.”

“I know I don’t have to worry about _you_. It’s _her_!” she said again.

“Enough.” he growled. “She can walk about the palace naked for all I care, I will never be interested in her. When will you understand that?”

“It’s not that I don’t understand it, Vegeta. It’s that she’s a woman and she’s conniving and manipulative and obviously would go to any length to take you from me. If she’s going to do that when I’m around, what is she going to resort to when I’m _not_ around?”

Vegeta shook his head in annoyance. “I have far too many things on my plate right now than to spend time worrying about your simpering over someone who does not matter. Do not let her get to you that is more than likely what most of that was abut anyway.”

“Whatever,” Bulma mumbled. She knew to a degree he was right, but she didn’t want to fight with him about it either. She felt like that was all they had done the past few weeks; bicker and argue and pick at one another and she didn’t like it. “Let’s go get Trunks.”

They left the palace together and walked down the streets of the capital of Vegeta-sei.

“Stay close,” Vegeta said to her, wrapping his tail possessively around her waist as they entered the city together.

Bulma took in the sights and sounds of the city. It wasn’t underdeveloped like Callisto, but it was less developed than the city streets of West City. The roads weren’t paved and there were kiosks everywhere with different vendors selling everything imaginable from fruits, vegetables, meats and desserts to housewares, jewelry, clothing and weapons. Literally everything and anything you could possibly need was available in great quantity.

She insisted they stop several times at different vendors to look at different things that piqued her interest. One such vendor was a man who built cleaning bots for the home. She remembered her father had been working on such a project just before her planet had been destroyed. Oddly enough, their design wasn’t that far off from what her father had been planning. The gentleman who’s store it was absolutely adored Bulma and was more than happy to show her some of his other inventions.

“You’re highness! Where did you find such a woman?” he asked his Prince.

“She was hiding in a far corner of the galaxy and I just happened to stumble upon her during a chance meeting while on a mission,” he said thoughtfully, looking at her as she was intensely examining something that he was obviously working on before they had shown up.

By this time, there was quite the crowd standing around both of them, all eager to either meet or finally catch a glimpse of this elusive mate their Prince had taken for himself. At first, Vegeta was quite tense and was growing increasingly uncomfortable at the volume of people that had come to see them, but eventually he relaxed somewhat when he realized it was more of a curious atmosphere rather than an angry mob, as he had been expecting.

Bulma felt somewhat overwhelmed by so many huge people in such a close proximity. They were all polite and eager to meet her however, much to her surprise. She smiled and spoke to them all. She was asked over and over again where she was from and what race she was and found herself relax as the feeling of acceptance washed over her. This was most certainly not what she’d had in mind over the last several months before they had returned back to Vegeta-sei.

The Saiyans in general were all very polite and kind and eager to know more about her. Though they commented almost nonstop at her petite stature by comparison to themselves, it was more in the air of amusement than unkind or critical.

She chuckled as she noticed Vegeta becoming agitated. He was never one for conversing with large amounts of people for any extended period of time. She felt bad in a way that he seemed so uncomfortable; it was clear that everyone held him in very high regard. Anyone that passed by them and the large crowd surrounding them made a point of speaking to him or greeted him at least; most however wanted to know about his ascension and congratulated him.

Bulma couldn’t help but feel proud of him. His father had given him the impression that because of his decisions regarding her, he had become nothing more than an outcast and a laughing stock of his entire race. That certainly was not the case here and she wondered if his father knew that or not? Vegeta certainly had been somewhat concerned over public opinion, but that had been more for his worries about her safety than simply what they thought about him.

They eventually made their way through the capital, though slowly as they were constantly stopped and greeted. It shocked her how everyone seemed to know her name and exactly who she was and no one made her feel like she did not belong.

“I think it is safe to say that public opinion of you is positive,” Vegeta said to her after one female vendor insisted that Bulma take her pick of several beautiful silk scarves. It had been very hard to choose, but she had chosen a plain, bright yellow scarf; she had felt guilty in choosing anything more elaborate and potentially expensive since the woman refused to accept any payment.

Finally they had a moment where they were not surrounded by people. Vegeta dragged her into a back alley before scooping her up and flying the rest of the way to Bardock’s. **_Vegeta, how will I know how to get there on my own if we fly?_**

**_Woman, at this rate it will take us the rest of the day to make it to Bardock’s._ **

**_Can we walk back then?_ **

**_We will have Trunks with us._ **

**_So?_ **

Vegeta thought on it a moment. **_Vegeta, I really don’t think anyone is going to be upset or try to harm him. They absolutely adore you! And no one was unkind to me. I think either your father lied or he’s completely clueless about the people who he rules over. Do you really think any of those people would attempt anything ill upon us? I don’t. But again, they are your people. Not mine._**

 ** _Perhaps._** Was all he said as they headed towards Bardock’s place.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that recently some info on Goku's mother has been revealed. I did toy with going with it, but I already had a name for her- mentioned in Endlessly. And I already had my own picture in my mind of her history and background, ect so for the sake of my own sanity, I am keeping mostly with that. No disrespect to Akira Toriyama. I just had a hard enough time trying to come up with these events than to worry about completely changing what I had in mind to begin with. I did however keep with her physical appearance rather than what I'd originally pictured and I did stick with a few facts that were mentioned about her on the Dragonball Wiki page. Not a lot is still known so I decided to have some fun with her. Hope that doesn't upset too many of you.
> 
> Enjoy!

_**Chapter 9** _

They finally made it to Bardock's place a few minutes later. Vegeta set Bulma down in front of a modest-looking home that blended in nicely with the rest of the homes in the area which reminded her more of small sub-divisions with lots of room than a cramped neighborhood. There was a spacious front yard with a huge garden on the left side of the home, fenced in with a sparse brown wooden fence.

Buma smiled inwardly; Bardock was such a techno junkie that she had half-expected his home to look high tech like her home at Capsule Corporation had been, not a simple farm-like home. However, Bardock was very modest himself and so on second thought, she decided that this did suit him.

She was somewhat nervous about meeting his mate though.

"Hey, Bulma!" Kakarott greeted, coming outside to greet them. "Hey, Vegeta! Glad you guys made it! I'd love for you to meet my mother, Bulma." Kakarott said.

"It is so nice to finally meet you! My name is Penelope." The petite Saiyan woman said, coming outside to greet them. She was around the same height as Bulma with a delicate build and short hair which seemed to stick out in every such direction. Bulma could see where Kakarott got his unruly hair from; both his parents apparently. All in all, she was not what she had expected. Bulma had been expecting a tall strong-built woman like the other Saiyan women she'd encountered and immediately felt more at ease when she saw that Bardock's mate wasn't much bigger than Chi-Chi and herself. "I have heard so many good things about you. I am relieved that you are alright; and you as well, my prince."

"It has been a long time." Vegeta agreed. He wasn't sure how long it had been. Possibly since before his mother's passing since he had seen Bardock's mate last and even then he had not seen her all that often.

"Thank you," Bulma nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last as well and thank you so much for looking after Trunks last night. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all, dear." The older Saiyan woman replied, waving her hand in dismissal. "In fact he seems to have settled right in. Come and see."

Bulma followed her down a short hall and into a room on the right. There were the two half-Saiyan boys fast asleep. "Oh wow, look at them! It's always such a battle getting Trunks to take his naps. How did you do it?"

"He's just played out." She shrugged. "And I am certain he is teething. So I mixed a little bit of a natural oil in with his milk to help alleviate his discomfort. That is more than likely why he has been so fussy."

"He's teething already?" Bulma exclaimed. "He's only around four months old."

"Saiyan babies usually begin teething around the three to four month mark." She confirmed.

"Well that explains a lot." Bulma commented.

"You will need to start weaning him quickly." She advised.

"But it feels like I just had him," she protested.

"I'm not sure about human infants, but Saiyan infants mature quite rapidly."

"Yea, that's what Vegeta says," she sighed. "I just want to enjoy him as a baby for just a little while longer though."

"I know, dear. On the plus side, it gives you an excuse to have another one!"

"No, I can't." Bulma said, shaking her head. "Vegeta says no more babies. Delivering Trunks was a scary enough ordeal for the both of us. Plus with this war and all of that, things are too uncertain for us to even consider it right now."

"I suppose. But once everything is settled, if the two of you are here, you should be fine. I was a midwife before I retired and now I stay home and help out when I can for whoever needs assistance."

"Right. Kakarott told me you used to do that. At the palace?"

"Many years ago." She nodded.

"So what do you do now?" Bulma asked in curiosity and once again was reminded of the huge difference between herself and the Saiyans. Penelope herself did not look much older than herself but Bulma figured she had to be in her fifties? Bardock as well did not look much older than Kakarott.

Bulma had always noticed that and had just assumed that it was all good genes that had kept everyone looking younger than they actually were. It made her wonder just how old they actually were and was dying to ask but wasn't sure if it would seem impolite so she let the matter drop.

"I am still a midwife of sorts," she answered with a smile. "I help out when needed in the city with other women if they have birthing complications and carry out exams on newborns to ensure that everything is alright and that they have no complications. I also work with the livestock when females are in birthing season. It can be a very stressful time of year as we depend on the livestock for our meat."

"That's neat." Bulma nodded. "So you're like a veterinarian, an obstetrician and pediatrician."

Penelope gave her a blank look.

"Sorry, on my planet that's what they called people who did what you do but they would generally only stick with one of the chosen professions instead of branching out and doing different things. Essentially what I meant is that you are a physician for animals, pregnant women and babies."

She smiled and nodded in understanding. "I suppose; however why focus my skills on one specialty only when I have the knowledge and desire to help out wherever I am needed?"

"I agree." Bulma said.

"Let's eat," she suggested, exiting the small bedroom. "The boys will be asleep a little while longer."

"Sounds good!"

They all sat down to brunch and visited. Mid-way through, Raditz dropped by, still nursing a hangover from the previous night's events.

"I don't know why you do this to yourself on a regular basis," Penelope scolded her oldest son. Bulma had to hold back a snort at the sight of this petite Saiyan woman scolding her giant adult son.

"I don't have any idea what you are talking about," Raditz growled, pouring himself a warm coffee-like beverage that Bulma was quickly becoming accustomed to since she had arrived to Vegeta-sei. It seemed to have the same effect but when she drank it black it wasn't nearly as bitter. Instead, it had more of a green tea type flavor to it.

"I expect you to be at the training grounds tomorrow, Raditz." Vegeta said, reaching for seconds of his breakfast.

"Aye aye," he nodded. "I will be there. Hey, is that larger gravity simulator thing almost done?" he asked, looking at Bulma.

"I just finished the plans for it the other day," she nodded. "I don't know how long it takes you guys to physically build it but the measurements, schematics and everything else is all done and it's ready to be started. I just needed to make some changes to the equation to allow it to work in a much larger capacity than-"

"We get it, it's done, Bulma." Chi-Chi cut in, interrupting her friend before she lost them all in a long dialogue of techno babble that no one other than Bardock and herself would be able to follow.

"The construction of it has been started," Bardock confirmed. "It should be ready by week's end if all goes well."

"Sweet! That's quite the invention you designed." Raditz nodded, reaching for a warm roll and began piling up a second mountain of other breakfast items on his plate. "The sooner it's done the better. We don't have a lot of time, hey Vegeta?"

Bulma looked at Vegeta who was sending a glare Raditz's way. "I thought you guys had a few _weeks_ before you were leaving?" she asked him.

"A few weeks, a few days," he shrugged dismissively. "What does it matter? We must leave soon. Raditz is correct, time is of the essence."

Bulma tried not to frown at him. "Whatever."

"I have made all of the necessary arrangements; you need not concern yourself over it," Vegeta said, picking up on her unhappiness and trying to brush it over nonchalantly in an attempt to not make things uncomfortable. There were still things he had not told her yet and at the moment he was wishing he had this morning. "Kakarott will remain here with you and Trunks. Raditz and Nappa will serve as my two highest ranking officers in Kakarott's absence."

"Man, I wish I was going with you guys," Kakarott sighed almost petulantly.

"Umm, no you don't." Chi-Chi snipped at him.

"Why not? I haven't had a good battle in forever, Chi-Chi. I've improved so much," he argued. "I was kind of looking forward to it just to see where I'm at and gauge just how much more progress I've made, I'm pretty sure I'm not far behind Vegeta now."

"Dream on, clown!" Vegeta snorted. "You cannot ever hope to surpass me."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Vegeta,"

"Ha! No offence, little brother, but I have to side with Vegeta on that one." Raditz chuckled.

Kakarott frowned to himself as he continued to eat. Truth be told, he loved his mate and son and he was happy to be back home, but he was bored of the domestic life he had here. Back on Callisto, he hadn't minded it all that much but over here, when there was a war brewing and it was a free opportunity to let loose and see what he was really capable of, he really was deep down disappointed and more than a little envious of his brother that Vegeta had chosen for him to stay behind. They had always gone on wars and missions together. While he had no doubt that Vegeta would be just fine and wouldn't need his assistance, a part of him was itching to want to fight alongside him and compare his own skills to Vegeta's. "You just wait, Raditz. I've far surpassed you from the last time we sparred." he chuckled at his older brother.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he snorted. "I'll tell you what, you and me tomorrow!"

"You've got it!" Kakarott smirked. "I'd take in plenty of fluids and grease and get some rest today if I were you."

Raditz growled at him and gave him the finger in response.

"Now, boys," their mother chastised them.

Despite her displeasure of finding out that Vegeta might be leaving sooner than he had led her to believe, Bulma laughed quietly to herself as she watched them interact and bicker amongst themselves as only siblings could while they all ate as though they hadn't eaten in days. She caught Chi-Chi's eye and her friend shook her head. "I don't get how you all can consume so much food in a single setting." she sighed.

"I don't get how you _can't_ eat so much in a single setting," Kakarott said back between mouthfuls.

All in all, it was a very pleasant meal and once everyone was done, Bulma insisted on helping Penelope clean up after the feast; it looked like an entire army had come by and eaten them out of house and home. Chi-Chi went to check on the infants.

"I realize it is not my place to comment on your relationship with the Prince, but I can see how unsettled you are," she started. "I know you only care about him and your culture is much different than ours, which is why I am speaking to you. I like you and I only want to give you a few friendly words of advice. Do not worry, I will be counselling your friend the same as well."

Bulma nodded. "No, it's alright. I don't mind. Thanks for caring, there's still a lot I don't know about your culture."

"Well, as I am sure you are aware, we are primarily a warrior race," she started. "Vegeta being who he is will almost always be expected to either wage war and many battles on occasions as things come up over the years. It is unavoidable, I am afraid. You need to be supportive of him, not upset with him and discouraging his path."

"So I'm not supposed to care that he may be hurt or worry about him?"

"Of course you can! He is your mate. However, these thoughts and worries must be kept to yourself. I realize this is no easy task, but you must not openly worry about him; it will make the people and the soldiers question his leadership and capableness.

"In this culture, there is no room for weakness of any kind- whether they see him that way or he is perceived that way because of your well-meaning concerns for his wellbeing will depend a lot on you in how you speak of him to others."

Bulma nodded and frowned at her explanation, though wasn't exactly sure she fully understood what she was trying to say. "So I can make or break him by mentioning that I worry about him?"

"Yes. If his own mate does not have confidence in him, then why should anyone else? Why would anyone want to support him and follow him into a war that his own mate does not think he can win?"

"It's not that I don't have faith in him that he can't win or that I am not supportive," she objected. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to him. My reservations have nothing to do with him and more to do with other influences potentially beyond his control or knowledge. Believe me, I know he is an outstanding warrior-"

"I know, dear. I know you worry because you care for him but it will be seen as you not having faith in him and his being weak. Rumors spread like wild fire around here. You do not want to unintentionally bring him down."

"No, I don't," she agreed.

"As it is, _almost_ everyone is so happy that he has returned. There are a select few that would take great pleasure in slandering his name given the first opportunity and find even more pleasure in it if he did fail," she warned. "So what better way for him to keep favor and gain his people's respect than leading our planet into a victorious battle to freedom over those that have oppressed us for many years, decades even?

"The role of a Saiyan woman is to support their mate in battle. Be concerned, and yes you may worry but do not mention it or show it. Not to others and not to your mate ever. If he is slain in battle, it is a horrible tragedy but he will be honored for centuries from now for his efforts and while this may be difficult for you to understand now, should he fall, be thankful that he died honorably for his planet and his people. That is why he is upset with you. Please do not take my council too harsh, this is not your fault. In hearing what I have about you from Bardock in the past and meeting you in person and spending time with your friend I have come to understand that you both come from a complete different world than we do. You feeling this way is not your fault."

Bulma nodded, appreciating what she was telling her and still acknowledging their cultural differences. "It's so hard though, and Vegeta doesn't always tell me these things. He gets upset and only then do I realize that I've accidentally offended him and I don't always know why."

"It is hard," she agreed. "And I will admit that when Bardock was offered his position at the palace because he proved to be more useful in the lab and creating his inventions to advance our technology than he was as a soldier on the battle field, I was more than happy for it."

Bulma smiled at her admission; maybe they weren't so different after all. "You don't worry about your sons though?"

"I do," she chuckled. "But they were raised to be warriors. I accept this and am very proud of them both; they bring much honor to our household.

"When I got the news that Kakarott had been killed in the explosion during his efforts in getting you to safety, I grieved deeply. He is my youngest and despite his upbringing, he retained a certain boyish charm that is not typical in Saiyan males. Bardock has joked with me on occasion that I must have dropped him on his head at some point during his infancy that he turned out the way he has."

"Yea, he's a great guy." Bulma nodded in agreement, laughing along with her over the speculation as to why he was different. "Even by our standards back home. If he's different, it's not a bad thing and I am so sorry for what happened. We wanted to let Bardock and Vegeta know that we had made it out safely but we didn't know how to go about in such a way that we wouldn't be discovered or put Bardock in any danger. I am sorry for putting you through that; I can't even imagine."

"It is fine and it is not your fault," she weaved her hand in dismissal. "That was not why I brought that up; to make you feel bad. My point is that I did grieve, but I also accepted that he died following a direct order from his Prince to keep his mate safe at all costs. He died an honorable death in the way that he had attempted to fulfill his duty to the best of his ability. It was sad, yes, but it was what it was and I am ever so thankful that he survived and has returned. Not only fine and able, but with a lovely mate and beautiful son. Through that tragedy, we were blessed. That is how I see it. I do worry about Raditz going into this war, but Vegeta is commanding. Everything will be fine and work out the way it is meant to. That is how I keep myself from worrying."

"Thank you," she said, wanting to hug the older Saiyan woman, but not knowing if it was appropriate or not. "That helps a lot actually. I'm glad you said something."

"Good, then I am glad!" she smiled. "I had noticed over lunch and had wanted to say something but was unsure if it would be out of place."

"Not at all," she shook her head. "Any advice you can give me so that I can live here happily and understand your culture, feel free any time; I appreciate it."

They quickly finished cleaning everything else up together and chatted happily about their mates and other things. Bulma was astonished to learn that Penelope had briefly been a warrior herself in her younger days. That had been how she and Bardock had met.

Her father had been a higher ranking commander and wanted his offspring to follow suite. Her other two siblings, a brother and a sister had done well for themselves within the military ranks and had advanced to gain prestigious titles for themselves but she had never acquired the interest and lacked the physical strength to amount to much.

Despite her objections, her father had insisted she join the ranks as well, in hopes that it would toughen her up a bit and so in her second year as a low-ranking Saiyan female soldier, she had been assigned to the same squad where Bardock had been appointed as leader. Because of her small build, lack of strength and interest in battle, she found herself in life threatening predicaments quite frequently and Bardock was always the one coming to her rescue for some odd reason to her at the time. It did not take very long and a romantic interest between the two had developed, prompting Bardock to formally take Penelope as his mate and formally discharge her permanently from the military, much to her father's outrage.

Penelope didn't have much else to do but since she had always had a fascination with pregnancy and young infants, she befriended an elderly Saiyan woman who had a reputation for being an excellent midwife. She learned under her and found her passion and niche in life. Within a short period of time, she found herself pregnant with their own child and had Raditz.

Not long afterwards, Bardock was appointed a position at the palace to take over the science and technology division since he had spent more time doing maintenance repairs and upgrades than being in any actual combat. Bardock and Penelope were very happy about the promotion and moved closer to the palace where Penelope continued her work as a midwife in the capital and had made for herself quite the stellar reputation; so much so that King Vegeta himself had requested her assistance when his mate and then Queen, Tesla had become pregnant with their first child.

It had been a very difficult pregnancy and there had been question as to whether or not she would pull through but she did and that was how Prince Vegeta came into the universe. King Vegeta, in his gratitude, had insisted Penelope have a permanent position at the palace as a physician. She had available to her all of the best technology and materials to study from and expanded her knowledge and skills that way, continuing to help anyone that needed help both inside and outside the palace.

About a year or two later, Penelope became pregnant again and birthed their second son, Kakarott who was appointed as companion to the Prince. As a result, he was exposed to the same education and training as Vegeta had been and the two had become closer than brothers.

It wasn't until years later, when the Queen had passed due to complications of her second pregnancy despite Penelope resorting to every last effort to help her that she decided to leave the palace and continue her work on her own in the capital, not far from the palace so that Bardock could retain his position.

Unfortunately, King Vegeta had held Penelope personally responsible for the death of his mate and son, which is why after she left the palace she refused to make any visits or appearances to the palace.

Bulma had heard some bits and pieces here and there about Penelope and her efforts to save Vegeta's mother. It was a shame, but sometimes things couldn't be helped. It was obvious to her that this woman would have done everything possible to help, she could see that even now she was grieved over the queen's passing.

Bulma smiled to herself as she listened with great interest to her story of how she and Bardock had gotten together. She remembered briefly asking Bardock once about his mate and he had cryptically said with a smile: "She is everything a proper Saiyan female and mate should be." She thought it was adorable that despite her not being useful as a warrior that he still saw something in her and took her as his mate. It made her feel a little bit better about her situation with Vegeta. Here was a situation where Bardock would have been around other warrior females, but he never took an interest in any of them and had taken a woman who was considered weak and useless on the battlefield as his choice, but never was she under the impression that he had any regret. He still had his position doing something that he loved, had two wonderful sons and a mate who looked after the home while he was at work and still was able to do her part and help out others in need.

Penelope had also given Bulma lots of suggestions to help her with Trunks and by this time, Vegeta was becoming agitated and insisted they must return to the palace.

They made their way back to the palace slowly and with Trunks in tow. Once again, they were stopped frequently by passersby. And once again, Bulma was touched by the seemingly overwhelming response of curiosity and friendliness towards them and their son. If anyone had issue with the idea that Trunks was not pure Saiyan, they did not voice it.

By the time they'd made it back to the palace, Bulma could tell Trunks was badly in need of a nap, being that it was now late afternoon.

As she tucked him in, she decided that a nap herself wouldn't be a bad idea. After all the drama from the previous day and Vegeta keeping her up all night and then the hike to and from the palace, she was exhausted. Vegeta was going off to train for a bit before dinner anyway. She hoped he wouldn't be too long; there were a lot of things she still wanted to discuss with him. Like when he was actually leaving? He hadn't brought it up again since lunch and she hadn't asked, hoping that he would just tell her.

Vegeta quickly changed into a different set of armor and made his way to the Training Center, wanting to catch up on lost time and to let loose on some pent up aggression to hopefully settle his nerves; only to bump into Asia on her way out. "You're back," she greeted. "Have you spoken to your father recently?"

"No," he grunted, brushing past her dismissively.

"Make sure you do at some point today." She suggested.

"Why?" he asked, stopping and turning towards her.

"Because there's been a new development in who's being sent to fight alongside with you against Cold." she informed him.

"I already have chosen who will be coming along with me." he replied indifferently.

"Well, you can plan on bringing one more person along," she said casually, dying to gauge his reaction to the news first hand.

"Really? Who?" Vegeta asked. "That weak fool who claims to be a distant relative of yours?"

"No, _me_." She answered.

"You?" he snorted. "And why the hell would I bring you with me on an important mission of this caliber? I thought I was being sent to kick Cold's ass, not babysit my father's mate."

"Don't be an asshole, Vegeta! I still technically out rank you, don't forget that," she reminded him bitterly. "Believe it or not, I'm just as put out about being sent out as you are to have to take me."

"I am sure you are," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "No, really; what is your agenda?" he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I don't have an agenda! I was just as dumbstruck as you are. Do you think I want to go off and fight a war and leave my son here where I cannot watch over him and be sure that he will be kept safe from _your_ father? Not really!"

"Exactly, you'll only get in my way and end up being nothing more than a liability to me."

"Watch it, Vegeta, you may just find yourself surprised. I am not as helpless as you seem to think."

"Hmmn, good," he replied after a moments consideration. "Then stay out of my way and we will get along just fine."

Asia rolled her eyes at him as he continued to head down towards the gravity chamber for a work out of his own. She wasn't going to say anything further to him when she remembered. "Hey, was it Bulma who made that gravity simulation?"

"She designed it, yes."

"I'm impressed." Was all she said before leaving, not giving him a chance to reply.

As much as she wanted to cut Bulma down, she had to admit that the gravity room was sheer genius. She had gone to the training facilities looking to only do some basic drills and to figure out exactly how out of shape she was in since it had been almost a year since she had worked out or anything.

Being that many of the soldiers had stayed up late at the banquet until the early morning hours, they were either still sleeping or still recuperating from severe hangovers; the training center was practically deserted.

Out of sheer curiosity, Asia had decided to see what the deal was with the gravity simulator. She'd heard about it from others and it had been a topic that had come up a few times over dinner last night. She had wanted to have something else to hate on and criticize Bulma for but once she had gotten it going and figured it out and saw the benefit of it, she couldn't. No matter how cynical she felt towards the other woman, she just could not bring herself to tear her down.

While she still detested her and wanted to have a legitimate reason to hate on her all the more, she found that she simply could not find a rational reason for doing so. Here was a girl who had it all. She was pretty, smart, talented and _nice_ for some reason.

It was then that a thought crossed her mind: What if she asked Bulma to watch over Tarble for her while she was gone?

While she despised the girl for having everything she herself had ever wanted, Asia also knew that if she could trust anyone to watch over Tarble properly in her absence, it would be Bulma.

Asia wasn't sure, however, how to approach Bulma on the matter or if she would even agree if she did get the stomach to ask a favor of her; she knew she hadn't exactly been nice to her since her arrival; or ever for that matter. Not only that, but would Tarble even be safe if her father was plotting against Bulma? She wasn't sure now. If something happened to Bulma and Trunks would Tarble end up being collateral damage? More importantly, would anyone even care if something happened to him in the crossfire?

However, she also knew that Vegeta would not be stupid enough to leave Bulma and Trunks vulnerable and unprotected while he was gone. She wasn't sure what he would have put in place to ensure their safety but she was certain her father and the King would not be aware of it and it had to be something he had enough confidence in that he was actually leaving them here. She may not understand why he had taken her or what he could have possibly seen in her but she did know that he would do anything to keep them both safe. Could she trust that it would be enough though?

She felt torn.

What should she do? She certainly didn't trust anyone else to look after him as she herself would and she wasn't even sure where this sudden confidence in the other woman she had considered her rival came from.

By this time, she had made it back to the Royal wing and was only a few feet from where Vegeta's quarters were. She debated on going to talk to Bulma but decided since she probably hadn't heard the latest developments and it was best to let Vegeta break the news to her even though she would love nothing more than to be there to see her reaction to the news that she would be traveling with her mate. Asia resisted having a good chuckle on the thought.

Content with her decision, she went to her own quarters. She would seek Bulma out in a day or two with regards to watching over Tarble. She just needed to figure out how to do that and hoped that she was making the best decision possible for her son. After all, he was the only thing that mattered to her anymore.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta packed in his training session after about an hour. He was not able to concentrate after his conversation with Asia.

It wasn't so much that he was angry that Asia was coming; it did not matter to him one way or another if she came or not. Despite his disparaging remarks to her earlier, he knew she was an exceptional warrior and that she could quite easily hold her own on the battlefield; he would not need to babysit her. If anything, she would more than likely be an asset to them and as much as he hated to admit it she was on the same level strength wise and just as experienced tactically on the battlefield as some of the elite soldiers he had selected to come with him. She would do just fine.

He just wondered what his father's motive was in sending her. It didn't make any sense to him.

The biggest thing he was stressing about was the fact that he wasn't looking forward to telling Bulma that Asia would be accompanying him. Bulma would not be pleased, not that he could blame her. Asia had caused them more trouble than not.

He wondered what the best way to tell her would be and snarled at the thought of how weak he was to even be worried about her reaction to the news. What was done was done. Bulma would just have to go with it and trust him. Once again though, the thought that she seemed to distrust him where Asia was concerned picked at him greatly.

For whatever reason, even after everything they had been through, Bulma still felt the need to feel threatened by Asia no matter what he said or did to reassure her otherwise. He had understood it back when they first had gotten together; but now that they were mated and bonded and even shared a son, that she still felt that way bothered him immensely.

If she could not understand that he would never be interested in Asia and that there was never anything that Asia could do to change his mind or make him remotely interested in her, then they had a problem. He was not sure how to rectify this and now with Asia accompanying him he knew that would only exacerbate the situation.

Vegeta left the training facilities seeing as he was so heavily distracted he wasn't accomplishing anything anyway. He made his way to the kitchen and ordered a meal to be sent to his quarters for Bulma and himself. He hoped it would be there by the time he made it back; while he had not accomplished much, he had worked up quite the appetite.

He walked through the castle halls with his destination in mind: His father's private study.

Vegeta knocked once before opening the door and walking in.

"I was wondering when you would pay me a visit today," his father greeted somewhat harshly. "I have matters to discuss with you."

"So I hear," Vegeta replied, taking a seat opposite of his father. "Would you mind filling me in on why you want Asia to accompany me or is it your hopes that she will not come back? She is a decent warrior, however I will not take the time to babysit whether the reasons are that you need her to be looked after or you are hoping for her demise. I do not care one way or another. She is your concern."

"I have full confidence in her," his father answered. "I have no doubt that she will make it back just fine, she will not require your assistance."

"So what is your purpose in sending her?" he asked again.

"She has not been on a mission since before all of this. It is important for her to be able to fend for herself as much as anyone, especially given her position. Should anything happen to me, she must be able to step up and defend."

"Should anything happen to you, I will be stepping up and filling that position." Vegeta said haughtily.

"I suppose so," his father nodded. "You do realize that in such an event that you will be required to set your woman aside and take Asia as your mate and queen. She already holds that position. It would be to your advantage to leave things as they are with regards to her."

"I see, so was that your main strategy in taking her in the first place?" Vegeta asked in a snarky tone. "That I would be happy with having your left overs?"

"No, I took her so that I could produce another heir since my one and only son and heir was nowhere to be found!" he said accusingly. "Had you at least kept me informed of your whereabouts I would not have had to take such drastic measures!"

Vegeta shrugged. "What does it matter, I will not be taking her when you are gone regardless of what position she holds. She can take her brat and go wherever she wants for all I care. I want it made clear that I have no interest in her and that if this is a matchmaking attempt, you will be disappointed."

"I see, so your woman will not take my advice and leave here despite it being for both your advantages?"

"No, she will not and you will not say anything to distress her like that again," he warned his father with a growl. "If you have no use for her, simply let her be. She will cause no harm or be any trouble for anyone."

"Did she tell you what we discussed last night?"

"She did. We discussed it at length." he admitted with a nod. "Thanks to you, she is now obsessing over aging long before me and being nothing but a burden while I am still in my prime."

"Well really, Vegeta. What were you thinking?" His father sighed in an accusatory tone. "Was it not enough to simply screw the girl for a few weeks and be done with it? Did you realize your mistake before or after you foolishly bound yourself to her? "

"I was fully aware of our differences; not that it is any ones business."

"Yet you failed to inform her of that minor detail? Did you not think that down the road as she begins to wither away to nothing and show her age that she wouldn't take notice that you would still look as young as you do now? That she would not wonder why or even resent you for it?"

"I would have dealt with it when it was appropriate," Vegeta snapped. "At this time it is irrelevant. All you have done is unnecessarily upset her."

"She is right to be upset," his father snorted. "What else, I wonder have you not told her? Is she fully aware of the scenario with regards to Cold? That this will not be an easy battle? That you are to leave within the week? "

"I have not informed her of that, no." Vegeta answered reluctantly, knowing that in this case, his father was completely right. He should have told her that he was leaving sooner rather than later. He wasn't sure why he was keeping that bit of information to himself and he knew that the time to have told her would have been this morning when they were discussing everything before leaving for Bardock's. As it was Raditz slip up at lunch made it impossible for him to not fill her in now and he knew she wasn't happy with him.

"Well you had better let her know," his father advised. "Time is of the essence. Should you wait too long before your departure, you will be outnumbered and we may lose. Cold still believes that you are out and about pissing around and gallivanting with that female of yours. I can only hold him off so much before he strikes. He is not a patient man; you know this and he wants payment for the loss of his son."

"I will pay him alright," Vegeta smirked. "It is a pity I did not keep his son's head as a trophy to present to him."

His father shook his head. "I am surprised that you didn't."

Vegeta simply nodded. The thought had occurred to him. However at that time, he had been worried about Bulma and her reaction to him doing something so barbaric. She had been so frightened and found him nearly repulsive at that time, he had decided to not do that. On top of that, he had gotten enough satisfaction and closure from being able to destroy him on his own that it had not even been a difficult choice to not keep a trophy. "What would the point have been? I destroyed him. Why would I want to drag his ugly face around for?"

"I see maybe you have matured somewhat since I saw you last." He commended, looking at his son with interest.

Vegeta simply nodded.

"Tell your woman that you will be leaving next week," he said after some thought. "That will give you some more time to ensure your men are ready and it should still work to your advantage strategy wise."

"Alright," he sighed, looking at his father suspiciously, trying to detect any possible hint that he was indeed setting him up for failure but could not find one. Why would his father set him up? His father hated Cold as much as he did. Getting rid of him would be the best thing his father would accomplish during his time to rule. What could he possibly gain from setting his own son up for failure? His new heir would not amount to anything if his measly ki now was anything to go by. Why would his father seek to have him destroyed if the one to surpass him was weaker than even the lowliest third class infant? It did not make sense. However, he also knew that Bulma would not have mentioned her suspicions if she did not have a valid reason behind them.

What had his father exactly said to her to make her think that?

"Is there something else you wish to discuss, son?" he asked, noticing the guarded expression his son had taken.

"You are certain that if I lead my troops to deal with Cold now within a week or two at the most, he would be completely blindsided and not anticipating it?"

"Why would he be anticipating it? He still thinks you are away and is exhausting every effort to find you." he shrugged.

"Yet he believes that you would just willingly hand me over to him?"

King Vegeta sighed awkwardly. So the woman had filled him in on her suspicions; not that he was surprised by this turn of events. He thought very carefully for a moment, wondering once again if this was the best course to take. While he and Vegeta hadn't agreed on anything for years, he did feel regret over betraying his son. He had noticed many positive changes in him since he had returned to Vegeta-sei two weeks ago.

While he acknowledged the changes, he refused to believe they had anything to do with the woman. Some of the things she had said to him last night had hit home to him, as much as he tried to dismiss her as another stupid female trying to coddle his son. He agreed with her that he was much too hard on him. However his own father had been hard on him growing up and while he had hated his father with an unimaginable passion, he looked back on his childhood now and silently thanked him for being hard on him. It had made him who he was today and he doubted he would have made it this far in his rule if his father had not been brutal with him in his lessons.

"I have a treaty agreement with him," he said finally. "He thinks I do not want a war to occur; that we are unprepared both financially and tactically for a war. So I agreed to hand you over to him as means of a peace offering." _Half true at least,_ he told himself as means of consolation.

"And he is stupid enough to believe that I would come willingly and surrender myself to him?" Vegeta asked with a laugh. "Has time made him completely daft?"

"He was greatly grieved over the death of his son. As a father, I can understand his thirst for revenge. So, no, he is not thinking straight. I took his side in the matter."

Vegeta nodded. "And he is expecting me to arrive on my own? But I will arrive with a legion of our best soldiers and take him by surprise?"

"That is correct." The King nodded. "After you depart, I will notify him that you are on your way, that I tricked you into going over there unarmed to him and are going to apologize to him for your actions, that I have not informed you that he is wanting your life in exchange for the one you took. He is not expecting a war, only to take custody of you and I am unsure what his plan after that is. I am sure he means for you to face a trial of some sort."

Vegeta nodded and frowned; that was a new piece of information. His father was always very vague on the subject of what Cold wanted from him, however Vegeta had already assumed as much. It is what he himself would do if the roles were reversed and someone executed Trunks. However hearing it from his father only confirmed that he needed to make absolutely certain that he would not lose. "Yet you are confident that I will not fall to him?" he asked, watching him closely for any evidence that would give him away.

"Why should you fall?" his father asked. "You have ascended and he has a very small army protecting him at the moment. There is no reason why you should fail. Unless you spend too much more time here and he has more time to gather his armies, then you may find yourself in quite the challenging predicament. However, if you go now, you should succeed."

Vegeta nodded. It made sense. "Very well, we will leave within the week." he agreed and left his father alone in his study. He thought long and hard about everything his father said and it didn't seem like he was setting him up or was plotting against him. The only thing that threw him for a loop was that he was sending Asia along. That decision did not make sense to him.

Bing that she was not his mate and therefore not his concern, he decided that it didn't matter. All that did matter was making sure he was prepared and that Bulma and Trunks would be safe while he was gone so that he could focus on destroying Cold without worry or distraction.

Vegeta made his way back to his quarters where he found that dinner had arrived and Bulma was settling in Trunks for the night.

"He missed you," she said, turning to look at him. "I had a really hard time settling him down tonight."

"I went to speak with my father for a little while after my training session," he admitted, checking to see what was left for him to eat, he was starving by this time.

"And how did that go?" she asked, coming to sit down near him at the table to keep him company while he ate.

"About as well as to be expected," he shrugged.

"Any new news about things?" she asked.

He looked at her closely a moment, wondering if she was asking because she had heard about Asia or if she was asking simply to make conversation? "I will be leaving within the week," he said, choosing to not tell her about Asia at the moment.

"I thought you had a _few_ weeks?" she objected with a frown. "What changed that?"

"My father says Cold is getting impatient. It would be best to go after him now rather than wait for him to get his shit together. If that happens then we may have a problem. As it is, he has rallied most of the other side of the galaxy to his cause in his vendetta against me." Vegeta explained.

"I thought you wanted to train with your men a bit longer? We've only been here a little over two weeks, Vegeta. The gravity simulator will be ready later on this week. Then you can train better with them. Even this morning you agreed that-"

"I realize that, but my father's informants are telling him that it is more prudent to leave now. Strike while he is still not ready."

"And while you and your men aren't really ready either?" she pointed out. "This sounds like a bad plan, Vegeta."

"And what do you know of war tactics?" he asked irritably.

"Point taken, so then if I don't know anything about battle tactics then why is it obvious to me that this is a bad idea? If it's obvious to me, then it should be a major red flag to you."

"It is not ideal but you speak as though my men have never been in a battle before. You do not know what they are capable of. More training would benefit them but if we need to leave now it is not as though I am leaving with a bunch of inexperienced boys. I have fought and lead alongside these men for many years, many of which are older and have twice the battlefield experience that I have," he explained. "I may have surpassed them all in strength but they will still be useful to me. I will refer to them for council should things not be as simple as we think it will be. I trust each and every one of them implicitly."

"Whatever," she sighed, knowing that arguing with him was pointless. "Just come back here safely and in one piece, please. That's all I ask."

Bulma got up and began clearing off the table of all the empty bowls and plates that had accumulated in the matter of just a few minutes now that Vegeta had returned to feast. She decided her best bet was to keep her opinions to herself and hope for the best outcome possible since all she was doing was annoying him with her worries. She was trying to keep Bardock's mate's advice in mind and apply it but it was easier said than done.

The tension from last night was still lingering between them somewhat and she hated it. She recognized that the majority of it was stress related and nothing more but that did not make it any easier to deal with it. They weren't usually angry with one another and even when they were, it wasn't for very long and either they worked it out verbally or in the bedroom and by the next day it was forgotten. Unfortunately this was a problem that was beyond either of their control and would not be going away any time soon and it was affecting both of them negatively.

Her only hope in Vegeta mentioning that he would be leaving very soon was that hopefully it would mean things would be over quickly and this chapter of their life be over and done with. What lay after this war with Cold, she wasn't sure but she hoped it would be a step in the right direction for the both of them if everything went as planned and Vegeta returned victorious.

Vegeta finished his meal in relative silence as Bulma put Trunks' things away and began straightening things up here and there. "We have staff to do that," he said as he watched her scurry about.

"I know," she said, not pausing.

"Then why are you doing it?" he asked irritably.

"Because I want to, Vegeta. I need to keep myself occupied because if I don't, I'll lose my mind and end up saying something to irritate you."

"Your thoughts are doing a good enough job on their own."

She sighed in annoyance as she put down some of the junk she was reorganizing and looked pointedly at him. "Look, Vegeta I don't want to fight with you. We don't see eye to eye over everything that's going on right now. Anything I have to say on the matter you find necessary to simply brush off like my opinions don't matter, and hope I am way off base with my worries!" She exploded at him. "Bardock's mate gave me some helpful insight today and I am trying very hard to play the roll of a proper Saiyan spouse instead of being the over paranoid spouse."

"You are being over paranoid and your lack of trust and confidence in me are wearing to say the least."

"I trust you, Vegeta." she objected. "I trust you with my life. That's not what this is about-"

"It is part of it." He insisted.

"Then tell me what it is you think I lack in the trust and confidence department," she snipped stubbornly, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at him. She really didn't want to fight with him anymore, but better they hash it all out now and be done with it than for this to drag on the duration of his time here.

"You are the only one that I want," he said, getting up and pulling her roughly towards him, which of course she hadn't been expecting and fell into him. "No matter our biological differences, no matter what my father or anyone else says or thinks. What else do I need to do to get you to understand that? Your constant doubts about my loyalty to you are tiresome and need to stop.

"I need to be free from all distraction if I am to go into this. I cannot be worrying constantly about you and you need to quit thinking that my attentions will be drawn elsewhere towards another. It will not happen."

"I know," she nodded. She knew she was guilty of obsessing over Asia too much and that it was irritating to him. "I don't doubt _you_. I know you only have eyes for me; that's not it, not entirely and I will work on it because I know it's not fair to you but I'm more worried about what will happen while you are _gone_. I'm not worried that much about her; I know you are doing everything you can to keep us safe while you are gone and I know you'll do your best in this fight to make it back home to us but I am still afraid."

"You do not take the time to consider how this is effecting me. It is always about how it affects you and your constant arguing against my decisions and better judgments and questioning that I am doing everything I can."

"I'm sorry for that and I _will_ work on not doing that but you don't tell me anything. You keep me blocked out from everything pertaining to this mission so I am at a loss to even know what it is you are going through. I'm not a mind reader Vegeta! I want to be a support to you. But you don't let me! If you can't let me in then I can't be a support to you. And in return then it is completely unfair to me for you to be angry with me.

"Talk to me, Vegeta. I may not understand but at least give me the chance to try. We used to be really good at that until we came here. Just forget everything else; your father, this war, your people. Forget it all! Let's just get on the same page because if I understood exactly what was going on, I wouldn't question your choices. Please?"

He looked at her long and hard, knowing she was somewhat right.

"Last night we both said things we didn't mean and I hate that. I don't want to fight with you. Especially if you are leaving soon. I want these last few weeks or days to be good between us before you go."

"There you go again, assuming the worst." He growled. "You speak as though this is the last we will see of one another."

"And for all I know it is," she shrugged. "Nothing ever works out in our favor, Vegeta. After everything we have come through together, you should understand where I am coming from with this."

He sat back down, not saying anything else in his defense and finished his meal in silence, deciding it best to cool off before he once again said something he did not mean. He finished his meal and headed to the washroom for a shower.

Bulma finished tidying up after him and decided her best option was to turn in for the night. She still did not feel any better and wondered what exactly was keeping Vegeta on edge. She wanted desperately to ask him but didn't want to irritate him further by prodding into his mind through their bond. She tried to not do that and most of the time it wasn't a problem. She did not need to know everything going on in his head twenty four hours a day and he wasn't constantly trying to figure out everything she was thinking either. But in moments like this when they were strained and stressed out, it was hard to not simply prod mentally just a little bit.

Especially since she suspected there was something he was not telling her. Why was he on her case about her questioning his loyalty where another female was concerned tonight she wondered? If there was something that was picking at him what could be so bad that he thought not telling her about it was better?

Vegeta stepped out of the shower then, already dried off from his ki. He didn't say anything but crawled into bed next to her. His mind was racing, wondering what he should tell her and what he shouldn't. He knew not telling her about Asia wasn't an option. He wasn't sure why he was putting it off, but he was. However it was only because he didn't have the energy to fight with her. Not when he was stressing over everything else going on.

 _ **I will tell her tomorrow,**_ he told himself.

 _ **Tell me what tomorrow?**_ She asked.

He growled in response. Once again lamenting to himself how sometimes the bond was more trouble than it was worth. Like right now. _**You will find out tomorrow,**_ he answered simply.

"Why can't you just tell me now? I'm exhausted, but my mind is just racing so I don't think I'll be falling asleep anytime soon. And I'm trying to not listen in on your thoughts, I am but you're stressing and I can feel it. So what's going on? What is it that's so terrible you can't tell me?" She asked turning around so she was laying on her right side facing him.

He thought a moment. "This is not something I can negotiate or something I wanted to agree to."

"Alright," She nodded. "Fair enough. I won't be mad at you then."

He snorted. "My father is sending Asia with me on this war against Cold."

Bulma was quiet a moment, taking that information in before she sat up, propped on an arm and looked at him. "Okay. Why?"

"Hell if I know. I only just found out about it this evening."

"And you thought it best to not tell me about it? Why?"

"You said you would not be mad." He objected.

"I'm mad you weren't planning on telling me." She corrected.

He nodded once in agreement. "I was going to tell you. I just did not feel like addressing it now along with everything else. Especially after our run in with her this morning."

"So I don't get it, why is she going with you? Is this some kind of set up from your father hoping you'll see the light and ditch me for her?"

Vegeta shrugged. "I do not think so, but I have yet to figure out his motives."

"He's married to her though. That's messed." She mumbled to herself.

Vegeta smirked at her. "It does not matter. I will work with her as required but I will still remain uninterested. You have no need to feel insecure."

"I know," she sighed. Now understanding why he was so annoyed earlier and why he did not want to tell her about Asia. However, that did not make her feel any less insecure. Here he would be gone for who knew how long and having to work closely with someone who obviously desired him and whom she would bet her life on would jump on any opportunity to have him for herself. Here also was an aspect in which she couldn't be better than the other woman. She was a warrior. Bulma couldn't fight. She could barely take care of herself let alone fight alongside Vegeta in a war. Suddenly, once again came the feeling that she did not belong here and not with him. She tried to push those feelings aside because she knew Vegeta did not see it that way, but she still felt it.

"I told you," he said, pulling her out of her spiral of negative thoughts about herself. "She is of no concern to you or me. One good thing about this is now I do not have to worry about her plotting against you in my absence."

"No. I just have to worry about her doing whatever she can to catch your attention. I'm not stupid, Vegeta. Even I know that in your culture there's something hot about a warrior woman that can fight alongside you and take care of themselves rather than a damsel in distress."

He shrugged in response, trying to push back his annoyance at her for stupid insecurities. "Are you finished? You are being ridiculous once again."

"I know." She agreed, laying back down beside him and dropping the topic. She didn't want to fight with him anymore. "This is hard for me, but I'll work on being more supportive."

He grunted in response, bringing an arm around her waist, holding her close to him. They were silent for a long time. Both contemplating everything that was happening so fast it was getting hard to keep track. Since their return, the last few weeks had gone by like a whirlwind of events. Unfortunately all of those events had done nothing but cause unnecessary strain and stress on them.

Bulma had always understood that Vegeta's position as Prince would be very demanding, but she had hoped it would take a few months for him to have gotten back into the swing of things and leave to go fight. She had hoped that things would have been more settled, that she would have had a purpose and maybe a job of some kind instead of being strictly confined to where she could and could not go. Thankfully that had been somewhat remedied today but she still needed to be careful. She didn't really have any friends here yet. What was she going to do to keep her mind busy and occupied so she wasn't worrying constantly about Vegeta and how things would be going?

They lay there together, both considering different things for a long time before Vegeta took her hand and placed it purposefully on his cock.

Bulma snickered at him and his silent but not so subtle request, but began to stroke him slowly, teasing him. He grunted appreciatively as she worked him slowly with her hand. She brought her face up to his and kissed him on the lips chastely, smiling against his mouth when he brought both his hands up and placed them on either side of her face and deepened the intensity of her kiss immediately.

They may not agree or have all the answers for the moment but for the time being, they could lose themselves in each other and try and make sense of everything else later on. The one thing Bulma did not want to do was take for granted the time they did have. Who knew how long they had before he left and how long it would be before they could find solace in each other again, forgetting about the days tribulations.

 _ **I love you,**_ was her last coherent thought before he pulled her on top of him and made her forget everything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope that was ok! If you want more info on Goku's mother, it can be found on the Dragonball wiki site. There's not a whole lot there.. I chose a few things to run with and tied it into what I had already decided for her a while back. Not sure if you remember, but I'd already made a bit of a back story on her way back in Endlessly. I decided to stick to it rather than alter it all together.
> 
> Anyway, please shoot me a review! I love hearing from you all! ;) The next chapter won't be all that long a wait- I promise!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it's been forever! Hopefully I can make amends by posting 7 chapters in a row??

**Disclaimer:**   I don’t own anything.  Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I’m just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

**_**_Butterflies and Hurricanes_ ** _ **

**_Chapter 10_ **

Bulma woke up alone as she had the past few mornings. This morning, however, she had been woken up a little while earlier when Vegeta had gotten up. She had watched him quietly as he finished up dressing in his armor for the day.

She didn't say anything to him, but smiled when she saw him check on Trunks for a few minutes while he had still been asleep. Thankfully Bardock’s mate had been right about his teething and had given her a remedy to make the process a little more bearable for him and so he had been sleeping much better through the night and was a lot less fussy during the day.

Knowing that everything was fine, Bulma had gone back to sleep and managed to get another hour or two of rest before starting her day.

She rolled over and collided with a mass lump of fawn hair and smiled to herself, reaching for Aro and snuggling him close to her. She wasn't sure where he slept at night but he never came to her bed until he knew Vegeta was gone. Bulma suspected he kind of slept all over.

Sometimes when she would be up with Trunks she would find him asleep underneath or next to Trunks' crib. Sometimes he slept at the door of their living quarters and she suspected he was listening to the comings and goings of the guards in the hall. Other times she would find him laying by the door of their balcony and if she was up, she would open the door to let him out to sleep out there if that was what he wanted and sometimes he would be asleep in his crate.

Vegeta observed that he was simply making his rounds, patrolling their quarters, keeping close surveillance of the place. He never said anything, but she knew he appreciated it and was glad they had brought him along.

Bulma finally got up and checked on Trunks who was still sleeping. Taking advantage, she opted for a quick shower and decided to start the day taking Aro out to that court yard Vegeta had shown her. 

She quickly washed and dressed herself before waking Trunks up to feed him. After that, she bathed him and gathered a few things like plans and documents Bardock had given her to go over and make improvements to. Many of them he did not have the time to make revisions or even approve the designs and give them the go ahead for production.  Since they agreed that there was no point bringing Trunks to the lab, he gave her these projects to sift through.  Whatever she approved he would give a look to. It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but she happily did it; thankful for a break from Trunks.  

Today, however she was planning on dropping by the lab for a moment. She had come up with an idea to help Vegeta and his men train on the ship while they were travelling. Bardock had given her the green light that it would be feasible. All he needed was the smaller gravity chamber and things would hopefully be ready before Vegeta and the soldiers left in a few days.

Bulma had managed to steal Vegeta’s small Gravity room capsule off of him last night while he had been in the shower washing away the day’s sweat and grime. She sighed in dismay as she tucked the capsule into her jeans; these past few days they had barely spoken. When they had, Vegeta was indifferent and irritable towards her. She knew it was just his stress doing this to him; his coping mechanism was to shut everyone out, but it was beginning to bother her beyond belief. 

Instead of rising to the bait and being snippy back at him, she held her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself. Of course because of the bond, it was something she really had to work at. It was like a fifty/fifty curse and a blessing at times and she found that she either loved it or hated it. There was never anything in between. 

She finished packing everything up, deciding she would work on some of her other projects outside in the court yard for a change of scenery from their quarters and it would let Aro stretch his legs. She capsulated a blanket and some toys for Aro and by that time she was ready to go, placing Trunks in his carrier and hooked Aro up to his leash.  

**_I'm going now to visit Bardock for a quick sec and then I’ll be in the court yard with Trunks and Aro for a bit. If you have a break, come and see us._** She said to Vegeta, not expecting him to be able to make it or even reply to her but she had just wanted to let him know where she was going. 

**_I may be able to later._** Came a completely unexpected reply; she felt a sudden rush of giddiness wash through her. 

**_Great if you can, if you're too busy though, I understand._** She said quickly, not wanting to make him feel obligated to come visit them if he had other pressing matters to attend to. **_I only wanted to let you know where we were._**  

**_Hmm.  Watch yourself._  ** 

**_I will._  ** 

With that, she headed out. She greeted all the guards she met on the way, introducing them to Aro who wasn't overly friendly; but he was interested in sniffing them out. 

Bulma made her way to Bardock’s lab and finished up business there before heading to the courtyard without incident. She unhooked Aro and watched him take off down the length of the field in a full run. She smiled to herself as he ran and sniffed everything and ran some more; he was so happy! 

She finally laid out her blanket and uncapsulated her things and loosened up Trunks blankets and such now that they were settled in and she brought out a ball for Aro and tossed it for him before sitting down. One thing she loved about this planet was it was always warm. She loved it. 

She tossed the ball for Aro a few more times before cracking open her notes. She worked on that for a little while before taking Trunks out of his carrier; he was beginning to fuss. 

Bulma took him out and walked out towards the middle of the field towards where Aro was making his own entertainment with a stick he'd found somewhere.  She sat on the ground with Trunks, holding him up under his arms and letting him stand sort of. His balance already was coming along really well. He couldn't stand on his own yet, of course but she knew it wouldn't be long until he'd be able to stand and then walk. She knew he'd learn to walk shortly after that and then she'd really be in trouble. She thought with a giggle; he was already very independent.  She'd have to keep a close watch on him then.

She thought sadly that Vegeta would more than likely miss Trunks learning to walk. She really hoped he wouldn't miss much more than that. Not only because she knew how much he was looking forward to teaching Trunks to fight but because she feared Trunks would grow up not knowing his father. She didn’t want Vegeta to be a stranger or just a thought or an ideal to their son. Bulma knew Vegeta didn’t want that either but if this war took months or even years, what would she do? She only hoped that once again, she was letting her thoughts get carried away. 

She smiled as Aro gently buried his nose against Trunks, sniffing him intently, his tail wagging. She hadn’t noticed someone enter the courtyard behind them until Aro growled a low, deep growl, prompting Bulma to turn around and see who it was. 

“Are you here all on your own?” Asia asked, standing at the entry way, holding what Bulma assumed to be her son. 

“I am,” she nodded, getting up and holding Trunks close, wondering what she was doing here. “Well, me, Trunks and Aro.” 

Asia stood there a moment, almost looking unsure. “May I join you?” 

To say Bulma was shocked was an understatement, but smiled at the other girl. "Sure, it’s fine; come in. He won't hurt you unless you try something first." Bulma said to her, reaching for Aro’s collar, though he was only watching the other woman closely rather than making a fuss. 

"If it does-" 

"Yea, yea, you'll blast him, I know the routine." Bulma cut her off rolling her eyes and heading back to her blanket and stuff she’d left spread out. 

Asia smirked at her. "Alright then," she said, coming closer. "If you know that's the case, then what's the point in having it?" 

" _It_ is a _he_ ; his name is Aro and I have him for company and it makes me feel better having him around," she shrugged, putting Trunks back into his carrier and Aro in a down stay next to him. "When I lived back on my planet, I had a protection dog. He was awesome. He wasn't able to help me, obviously, but he did try and that's all that matters. So while I know at the end of the day it wouldn't matter whether I have him or not, if someone wants to hurt me, they will; but he can at least warn me before hand and maybe I'll have some time to get away. At the end of the day, I guess it’s something familiar to me from my planet. I don't have much else." 

"I suppose. I never really thought about that." Asia said thoughtfully. Truthfully she never had given much thought over what this girl had been through what with losing her planet and everything. She had been so absorbed in the fact that Vegeta had taken an interest in anyone but for her at the time, she'd never even given the girl a chance or even stopped to think about what that must have been like for her.  

"You can sit and hang out if you want, I wouldn’t mind the company and Aro won't hurt you. Just let him sniff you and your son; he'll be fine." Bulma offered as she sat down, actually hoping she might take her up on the offer. Some company would be nice, plus she kind of wanted to pick her brain a little to see if she could gain any insight on why she was being sent away with Vegeta.  

Asia thought for a moment and then decided to humor her. She did after all want to ask her to watch her son while she was gone. She still was not sure if it was the best idea, but it was the best thing she had come up with. 

She sat down on the blanket Bulma had laid out, holding Tarble close, still not completely sure of the dog.  

"Go see," Bulma said to him and he cautiously leaned in, wanting to sniff the new comers. "Just let him sniff, he'll be fine." 

Asia shrugged, but let the dog sniff her son. The dog hadn't eaten Bulma's son, she figured. Tarble cooed and giggled as his neck and cheeks were tickled with his whiskers as he sniffed him with interest. 

"He's been so good with Trunks," Bulma said, watching the dog interact with the other toddler. "I was a bit skeptical at first since I wasn't sure how he was with children; I never asked the lady I'd gotten him from about that when I got him."  

Asia nodded, but didn't say anything. She just watched him sniff her son and a moment later put her hand out for him to sniff her. "Can I touch him?" She asked, not sure why she was so unsure of the dog, since she knew she could take it out before it had the chance to do her or her son any harm.  

"Oh yea," Bulma nodded. "He's fine." 

Asia smiled somewhat as he sniffed her hand and stroked the side of his neck. "He's softer than he looks," she commented.  

"Yea," Bulma agreed. "He's shedding really badly right now, ever since we got back. Not sure if it's just stress from having to adapt or because it's so warm here. Probably a bit of both," 

Asia nodded. "And he's good with Trunks?"  

"Very," she answered proudly. "He sticks pretty close to him and is extremely protective of both myself and Trunks. Like I said, I know he wouldn't be much good if someone wanted to hurt us, but back on my planet, these dogs were among the best of the best in terms of protection dogs. So it makes me feel better having him around especially if Vegeta's busy with other things." 

Asia nodded, looking at the dog with mild interest while trying to figure out how to start a conversation with this girl. "So, I don’t know how to ask you; I- I'm not good at asking favors. I realize we didn't exactly get off on the right foot." 

Bulma just shrugged. "No, we didn't; but what's done is done. No sense dwelling on it." 

"Right," she agreed, still not sure how to ask her to look after her son, and still unsure if it was such a good idea now or not.  

Picking up on her indecision, Bulma decided to help her out a bit. She was curious as to what she wanted now from her anyway. "If you want a favor, just ask. The worst I'm going to do is say no, right? And if it's something I can do, I most likely say yes. So long as it doesn't involve me leaving Vegeta; I already had that conversation with his father." 

"No, it doesn't have anything to do with Vegeta," she said quickly, looking down at her son. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, asking such an important thing of someone that she'd been so cruel to since they'd met. "I know you won't believe this, but I know that ship has sailed." 

Bulma snorted in response. "Alright, then you should be in the clear. What can I do for you?" She asked, refraining from saying anything snarky. What was the point? It was obvious she wasn't comfortable with having to ask something of her in the first place, why be mean?  

"I assume Vegeta would have told you that I'm going along with everyone on this war mission," she started and then paused. What if he hadn't told her?  

Bulma nodded. "Yes, he told me." 

"Okay, well since he's leaving you and your son here, I am assuming he's made arrangements for your safety while he's gone, right?" 

Bulma frowned to herself. What an odd question. She wondered what the best way to answer that would be, being that she didn't fully trust her. She shrugged and decided to play it by ear and figure out what it really was that she wanted from her. "He has, yes. Why do you ask?" 

"I need someone to look out for Tarble for me while I'm gone," she said flat out. "It wasn't my choice to have to go on this thing. If it had been up to me, I would rather not go." 

"Uhm, what?” she sked in shock, of all the things she could have asked, this was the last thing she would have guessed. “Why? If you don't mind me asking?" Bulma asked with interest, wondering if maybe she had some inner insight to confirm her suspicions about the King setting his own son up for failure. While she didn't trust her where Vegeta was concerned, she was convinced that she would not go along with a plot against him to have him harmed. "I thought you Saiyans live for opportunities like this. And not to be rude, but it's a good chance for Vegeta to see you in your element." Alright, she knew she hadn't had to add that last bit in but she couldn't keep that catty side completely from coming out. After all hadn't she just propositioned Vegeta not 24 hours ago?  

"Huh, you are right; on both accounts I suppose." She smirked. "However my main concern is having to leave my son behind. I don't trust that he will be safe while I am gone. Vegeta hasn't been exactly impressed with how he has been developing. He wasn't born with a high power potential and I am afraid he hasn't improved much since his birth. Can you sense energy levels?" 

"No, I can't. I've heard Vegeta talk about it but no, I can't sense them myself. Apparently I'm weaker than my own son and the dog?" She said with a laugh.  

Asia nodded. "It's true," she shrugged. "Well, this guy isn't much stronger than you, in terms of his energy levels and overall potential. Your son is much more promising. Actually, he's very impressive considering-" and she cut herself off, remembering that she needed to at least attempt to be nice to Bulma if she was going to help her out.  

"It's alright. I know," Bulma chuckled, choosing to not take offense. It was true. "Even Vegeta was quite surprised." 

"Right," she nodded awkwardly. "Anyway, I am afraid something may happen to him while I'm gone. I don’t know if that's why he is sending me or not so that he can get rid of him; I don’t know if I am being over paranoid but I am not comfortable leaving him and I certainly cannot bring him with me." 

Bulma nodded in understanding of the other girls’ worries and genuinely felt pity for her. "What does your gut tell you?" 

"That leaving him here under just the care of the palace nurse maid and my mate’s appointed guards is a bad idea," she answered truthfully. "I don't even know why I thought it would be a good idea to ask for your help on watching over him. I mean, it's in your best interests if he's done away with but I thought... I don’t know what I thought." She finished shaking her head, suddenly feeling stupid for even considering asking Bulma's help now that she was here sitting with her. Why would she care? It would be in her best interest for something to happen to Tarble; not to mention the girl probably hated her.  

"As a mother with a young infant of my own and in a similar predicament that I would understand," Bulma finished for her. 

"I guess," she sighed, looking at her small son, who was currently looking wide eyed at Trunks. 

"I will watch him for you, yes," Bulma said after some thought. "That is if I am allowed to. He is considered the next royal heir. Do you think the King would even allow it? I don't want to put myself in a worse situation and I wouldn't blame him to assume my motives to not be honorable." 

Asia thought about it for a moment. "I understand your concern but at the same time, I don’t think he would notice or even care less who cares for him. And if you did decide to have something bad happen to him in order to advance your son, I don’t think he would care. Not that he would be ok with your son either being that he's mixed, but I think he respects that he at least has a good potential down the road."  

"I wouldn't go that far. If he could get rid of both me and Trunks in one sitting, he would do just about anything to do it," Bulma admitted. "Which is why I am asking if you are sure I am the right person to ask? I'm not saying no. I am simply worried about him being collateral damage in your mate’s effort to rid me and Trunks from Vegeta's life. If I do this, I will look after him for you as though he were my own. But I can't even guarantee my own safety. How could I guarantee you his?"  

"I understand." She sighed, she'd known it wasn't a good idea in the first place. She was surprised Bulma had even agreed. "I just assumed that, well, being that Vegeta holds you in such high regard that he would have come up with some fail safe plan of execution should you be in danger or this war doesn’t go the way we want it to." 

Bulma wasn't sure what to do. Sure Vegeta had made all the arrangements should she need to leave stat. But should she reveal them to her? Could she trust that her petition to watch over her son was real and not a way for her to gain information to take back to the King in an effort to have her and Trunks permanently dealt with? She wasn't sure. Part of her was telling her to walk away from this. The other part of her heart broke for her in understanding what she was asking for; and should she decline and something happened to her son because of it, Bulma knew she would never forgive herself. 

"We do have plans for if worst comes to worse. Please forgive me for not reiterating them to you," Bulma said, choosing her words very carefully. "If I do take him to care for during your absence and that is what you decide, I need you to trust that I will care for him like he is my own; meaning that if I have to leave here because shit goes sideways or I feel our safety is threatened in any way, I will take your son with me, no questions asked and without permission. Not necessarily forever, but for safe keeping until you are able or it is safe to come back here. I need you to trust me that I will do what is best for him and for Trunks. I can promise you I will do my best, whatever that may be should it come down to that." 

"You would do that?" She asked, dumbfounded.  

Bulma nodded. "I would," 

"But why? I've been nothing but horrible to you." 

"Because I can choose to set our issues aside and look at it from the stand point that your son is innocent. He has nothing to do with us being friends or enemies; even that being as it may, we have at least this in common in that we are both mothers and want only the best for our boys. I can't on good conscience do harm to a child or knowingly leave a child behind if it isn’t safe. Regardless of who his parents are. If you ask this of me, I will take it seriously." 

"I don't know what to say," she said. Truthfully she had been half expecting the other girl to laugh at her. 

"Don't worry about it. Just look after yourself out there and come back to him. If anything happens and I have to leave, I will let Vegeta know. He knows where I will go. I will take your son with me." 

"Right. So you do share a bond then?" She asked, trying to swallow that familiar wave of jealousy from rearing its ugly head.  

"Yea, we do." Bulma replied awkwardly, not wanting to discuss anything too personal with her.  

"Must be nice," she commented bitterly. 

"It is," she agreed. "So if things go bad for you guys out there, he will let me know the moment it happens and I am to leave. I won't say where or what exact plan is, but I will know before anyone else will." 

"Alright," she sighed. "I will trust you with him." 

"And I will trust that you won't tell anyone that I have an escape plan and that you aren't part of a plot to bring Vegeta down." 

Asia frowned, "What plot to bring Vegeta down?"  

"It’s nothing, just a bad feeling I have. This whole war scenario is just too convenient and happening way too fast," Bulma shrugged, playing with a piece of grass. "It's just me being paranoid, I'm sure. That's what Vegeta says anyway. He's probably right. Forget I said anything." 

Asia thought a moment. "I don't know of anything like that. Don't say anything, but if there's plotting against anyone, it's his father. But that's been going on since forever. The bastard is much too smart and probably already knows anyway. So I don't know why they waste their time, the only one able to remove him will be Vegeta but you didn't hear it from me."  

"Well let's hope that won't be anything happening any time soon," Bulma commented vaguely.  

"I would have thought you would want that as soon as possible." 

"Not really," she sighed. "Though I'm under the impression you'd be alright with that and if it happens, I'm not going anywhere."  

"I know," she shrugged. "As much as I wish things had turned out differently and I can't for the life of me understand his fascination with you, I’m already trapped in a shitty relationship with someone who isn't interested in me. And while I won't lie, if I thought I had a chance with Vegeta, I would take it but I would be exactly in the same position I am now: stuck with someone out of convenience. And how long before we would resent and hate one another? I hate his father; quite more than even you could imagine. It's exhausting. And I don't even know why I am telling you of all people this." 

"I won't tell anyone," Bulma said quietly. "I can’t say I am sorry Vegeta and I are together because I'm not. I wouldn't change that for anything; but I am sorry you're stuck in a bad situation. I think had things been different, maybe we could have been friends?"  

"Perhaps," she snorted. "Saiyans don't have friends though," 

"Comrades maybe but not friends." Bulma said, mocking Vegeta's foreign accent.  

"That's about it," she nodded.  

"Shouldn't you be training?" Vegeta barked, standing at the entry of the field, looking angry as usual. He had most certainly not been expecting to find Asia sitting with Bulma and immediately wondered what her motives were. 

"How I spend my time is none of your concern." she retorted in an equally acidic tone. 

"You're right, it isn’t because I could care less what you do with your time but if I have to be watching out for your weak ass on the battle field instead of claiming victory then it is my concern," he said haughtily. "I will not tolerate or stick around to babysit anyone that cannot keep up." 

"I won't. Make sure it is you who does not fall behind." 

Vegeta smirked. "You just watch. I will have Cold begging for mercy, humiliated and slain before half of you even get off the ship. I doubt I will even have need to deploy all of you." 

"Good. The less I have to do the better." 

"Exactly. I will need someone to keep the lot of us well fed. That can be your duty since I will not require your assistance anyway." 

"Vegeta!" Bulma scolded him. She knew he had no use for Asia, but he didn't have to be so rude.  

Asia smirked at him as he glared at Bulma. 

"What?" He objected. "There is no reason for her to be coming along." 

"I agree, but it's not up to me, is it?" She snipped back at him. "So get over it. I’m here to ask a favor of your mate." 

"And what business could you possibly have with Bulma?" He snorted, not sitting down, but standing just behind Bulma with his arms crossed. 

"She's asked me to look after her son while you are both gone." Bulma said. 

"That is absolutely out of the question." He said, glaring at Asia in suspicion. 

"Why?" Bulma asked. "I don't mind and seeing as I'm the one being left behind here, if I want to take on that extra responsibility then I should be able to." 

**_Woman, we cannot trust her. What if she is setting you up?_  ** 

**_I don’t think she is, Vegeta. I was really suspicious at first too, but I honestly don't think she has any hidden agenda. She just wants to make sure her son is safe like any normal mother would want._  **

**_I see. And she has a sudden kinship towards you now out of the blue?_  ** ****

**_I wouldn't say that, no; but she is smart enough to know that you would not leave Trunks and I without a backup plan should shit go sideways,_** she argued. She wasn't stupid enough to think Asia all of a sudden saw her as a friend or an ally but she understood her wanting to ensure her son's safety.  

**_Please tell me you did not tell her everything._  ** 

**_No. I told her that I would watch over her son but the minute I felt things weren't safe I would be leaving here and taking her son with me. I didn't say where or how I will have the means of doing such a thing. For all she knows I have a place to hide here; but I told her I would take him with me and that she could have him back if and when it was safe. That's all._  ** 

"Hey! I'm sitting right here." Asia said irritably, the jealousy over their obvious bond making her regret even considering asking Bulma for help. On the other hand, if things didn't go well, it may be that bond between them that would keep her son safe.  

"Sorry." Bulma apologized, feeling bad for unintentionally throwing that in her face.  

"I am leaving my son in her care because I do not trust your father to not have him put down in my absence. That's what I think his reasons are for sending me away. Not to keep me in shape or be battle prepared like he said." Asia explained. "I realize you have no reason to trust me, but my son is innocent. Believe me, if I thought I had any other choice than that I wouldn't sink so low as to ask for her help." 

Bulma rolled her eyes at her. While Vegeta looked at her very carefully, as though trying to detect any indication that she wasn't being truthful. 

"You are alright with looking after her brat?" He asked Bulma, turning to her.  

"Yea, I don’t mind along as she understands that if I need to leave, I will leave and take him with me. She needs to trust that I will do the right thing at the time." Bulma said.  

"Very well," Vegeta nodded. "If I suspect any deception from you, she is to go back on this agreement and you are to not inquire of her whereabouts should she take him. You will be notified about where he is once I decide it is safe for her. These are the terms. Understand?" 

Asia thought a moment, just now realizing how much trust she would be putting in the both of them; Bulma especially. She wasn't sure she was alright with that but what choice did she have? At this point, she trusted Bulma a whole lot more than she trusted her own mate. How sad was that? She thought in disgust. "Alright. I will trust you," she said, looking pointedly at Bulma.  

"Don't worry, I'll do my best. So long as your mate doesn't go back on his promise to leave us alone, it should be fine."  

"I don't think he is stupid enough. He knows you can take him out." Asia said, nodding at Vegeta. "We just need to make sure all goes well on our end." _And that my father doesn't do anything in the interm._ It was all dependent on that, she knew. However her father more than likely wouldn't make a move until they were on their way back. She decided she would try and get as much information from him as possible before she left. While she didn't care what happened to Bulma or Trunks, if it meant foiling her father's plans to keep her son safe, then she would do it. What good had her father ever done for her anyway? None.  

"Then you had better get training," Vegeta leered at her. "Not that it will make any difference. I will not require your assistance. However, I will not be stopping should you fall behind." 

"Yea, I know." She snipped. "Let hope you can back your mouth and this supposed ascension of yours is half as good as you boast."  

Vegeta snorted in response. "You will see, alright."  

"Fine. I will be going now but I will be in touch with you to let you know everything you need to know about Tarble." She said, dismissing Vegeta altogether.  

"Sounds good," Bulma nodded. "Whenever. You know where to find me." 

Asia offered her a half smile and left them on their own. 

"Are you out of your mind, Woman?" Vegeta asked once Asia was gone. "Have you any idea what you have agreed to? Should you have to leave, you will be unable. You will be trapped here. Whether my father cares or not about his heir, you will not be permitted to take him and I will not have you risking the wellbeing of Trunks and yourself over a brat that means nothing to either of us." 

"Okay, but it's not like I am going to make some huge announcement like 'Hey guys, I'm leaving!'" she said sarcastically. "I'll just sneak away with him."  

"And once they realize that you are gone and have kidnapped the heir to Vegeta-sei you will be more than just a wanted fugitive. You will be hunted down and tried for kidnapping and treason." 

"I'll probably be hunted down anyway if I have to leave. What's the big deal? Vegeta, anyway we look at this, it's a bad plan." 

"And yet you are so anxious to make it worse all in the effort to help someone who has caused us both more grief than necessary." 

"I know that, but I can't in good conscience say no. If she's over reacting and her son is fine then whatever but if I say no and her instincts are correct and something happens to him, I won't be able to live with myself." Bulma argued. "As a mother, I understand where she's coming from. I may not like Asia or trust her, but her son is stuck in the middle. It's not his fault." 

Vegeta exhaled in frustration. "You are the most aggravating, stubborn woman I know."  

"And that's why you love me, right?" She asked playfully, leaning into his side. 

"Hmm," he grunted, deep in thought.  

"What?" She asked. 

"I do not trust her," he said again, finally sitting down next to her, between Trunks and Buma. "Even if she is sincere in her request she is putting you in a very dangerous situation." 

"Yea, I know." She sighed, looking at him and noting the serious look on his face. 

"Perhaps I should send you away regardless of things going good or not. Take Trunks and her son. Leave with Kakarott and his mate and go back to Callisto." 

"You think?" She asked. 

"Possibly," he muttered. "You will still be in trouble for leaving with her son. There is a good chance my father will send scouts out to retrieve him." 

"But what if Asia told him I was going to be looking after him in her absence?" 

"He will never be alright with that." Vegeta answered, raking his fingers through his hair. "I really wish you had consorted with me first on this before blindly agreeing to this." 

"Sorry. I was only wanting to help."  

"Why would you want to help someone who would take pleasure in your demise?” he asked honestly; his black eyes flashing with annoyance, concern and confusion. He truly did not understand why she would even for one moment consider something like this. 

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, truthfully, not entirely understanding herself. “I guess I was just thinking about it from her point of view. I would do just about anything to keep Trunks safe.” 

“You would give him to her?” Vegeta huffed. 

“If I thought I could trust her, yes,” she replied slowly, thinking it through. “I don’t, or before an hour ago I wouldn’t have even considered it; but you weren’t here when she came this morning. She made a point of seeking me out and it was for the sole purpose of asking that of me. For whatever reason, this is something she has considered quite thoroughly and I could tell she had a very difficult time asking me to do it, never mind I’m not sure even she thinks it’s the best plan; but I did feel her request was sincere. Who knows, she may even change her mind, Vegeta.”

“Let’s hope she does.” he growled finally taking his harsh stare at her and looking at Trunks who was wide awake, just watching them bicker. “Your mother is far too kind and has no sense. I hope you will have inherited my shrewdness rather than her foolishness, boy.” 

Bulma snickered at him. 

“What?” he barked at her. “It is true; you truly are foolish.” 

“Not that; you just called him _Boy_.” 

“What of it? He certainly is not a girl; or he wasn’t the last time I checked,” he snorted, still annoyed by the current turn of events. 

“You sounded just like your father; you _hate it_ when he calls you _Boy_.” She chuckled. 

“This is true.” he agreed with a scowl, not only at the reminder that he did hate being called that by his father but that he had unknowingly mirrored one of his father’s mannerisms. Growing up his father had never done anything but criticize and chastise him, always began or ended his lectures with _Boy_ at the end. As a child he’d hated it, as a teen and young adult he hated it even more and now as a grown man with a mate and child of his own he absolutely loathed the word when directed at him. 

“Hey, don’t get all pissy about it, I was just teasing you.” she said, reaching out and touching his arm. “I thought it was just amusing is all. I’m sure there’s a thousand things that I do subconsciously without even realizing it that its stuff my mum does that I can’t stand. It’s totally normal.” 

“I am not my father though.” He growled quietly. 

“Oh, god no,” she huffed. “You’re nothing like him at all, Vegeta. That’s not what I meant, I’m sorry. How was training today?” 

“Fine.” he snapped bitterly. 

“Uh ohh, what now?” 

He sighed heavily and raked his fingers harshly through his hair several times. “It does not matter.” 

“If you’re stressing out more than you already have been, then yes, it does.” she said knowingly, tired of backing down and walking on eggshells around him. “Just tell me what it is.” 

“I cannot ascend further,” he finally admitted. 

“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown. “I thought you had ascended.” 

“I did,” he snorted. “But there is another level, I can feel it. It is hovering just above my reach and yet it is almost as though I have reached a plateau and cannot attain the next level.” 

Bulma was unsure what to say to him in an effort to encourage him; he had never mentioned attaining anything beyond his ascension. “Well, if there is another level, I’m sure you’ll find a way.” 

“Hmmn,” he grunted. “Not likely. We leave here in three days and the trip to where Cold is currently residing is three weeks away. What a complete fucking waste of three valuable weeks!" He snarled. 

"Well, if you can't train longer here, why not take the gravity simulation with you?" she suggested casually, ever thankful that she’d had the foresight to even ask Bardock if such a thing was possible. 

"Because it will not fit anywhere on the dammed ship." He snipped at her. "You think that I have not already considered that? I have considered taking a separate ship where the smaller simulator will possibly fit but that would not be good for morale. I must travel with my men." 

"I know neither of the gravity rooms will fit, I'm not stupid." She shot back. 

"Then why suggest something so completely unhelpful?" 

"Because you can take apart one of the machines and bring just the simulation device on the ship. Attach it to the basic gravity device that’s already there to keep you all from floating around and you can probably activate and govern the gravity levels in the entire ship to higher levels like you have been training in or even limit it to half the ship if there were those who aren’t training." 

Vegeta blinked at her and didn't say anything for several seconds. Here he had lashed out at her in his frustration without even considering maybe she already had a solution. 

"Yea. I already passed the idea down to Bardock. All he needs is your personal gravity machine to remove the gravity on and put it in the fleet ship and program, which I gave to him this morning." She confirmed haughtily. "You're welcome." 

He reached for her and pulled her into a warm embrace by way of apology. 

"I know you're just stressed out." She said, hugging him back. 

"When did you come up with that?" 

"The other day. When you said you were leaving in a week." She answered. "I know you are worried about readiness for yourself and your soldiers. I don't know if you are or aren't but figured there had to be a way to help you prepare while on the way there. So since I'm not happy about you going here's my contribution to helping and hoping you'll all be over ready. Plus I figured it would keep your mind occupied as well." 

He nodded. "What would I do without you?" 

"Dunno." She shrugged. "Be all broody and miserable all on your own? Oh, no wait you already do that." 

"I do not mean to be." 

"I know. Just don't shut me out. It terrifies me." She confessed, leaning back to look at him. "I know you have a lot on your plate."

"Hmmmn." He grunted.

"Please, Vegeta. I won't tell anyone anything, so you don't have to worry about anyone finding out and thinking your weak or whatever. I'm trying to be supportive and not worry and not even voice my worries but when you shut me out it makes me worry more."

He didn't say anything, just held her. Not sure what to say or not say. He knew he had been unfair to her but the closer the day of his departure drew near, the further away he was alienating himself from her. It was unintentional for the most part but he could feel the strain between them it was creating. Part of him was bothered by it and the other part of himself was convinced that it was necessary to keep himself from being distracted.  

In the months after Frieza until they had arrived here he knew he had indulged her far too much and while he didn't regret their time together, he now understood why his father always cautioned him as a young man growing up that it was alright to take a mate but to keep some distance there. He supposed their situation being not typical had caused him to throw all caution to the wind where Bulma and their bond was concerned but now that they were in the thick of things she was more of a distraction and liability to him than anything else. He had always known that but now more than ever it was becoming more apparent to him.

It was more his anxiety and worry over the safety of his family that had him stressing out rather than doubting his ability and his faith behind his men to win this thing, he had no doubt; even if he did not manage to climb to new heights in terms of his abilities. In all honesty, it terrified him how much they were his prime concern and he now understood the reasons behind his father's tiresome counsel. He felt guilty for understanding it because it meant acknowledging and coming to terms with the fact that Bulma and his son were a weakness and burden to him. However at the same time, he wouldn't change having them in his life for anything 

His whole life he had been taught to never surround himself with weakness of any kind. To never care for anyone because it could be potentially used against him. Having attachments that ran that deep were the worst of weaknesses. Yet he had fallen and had left himself wide open now. If anything happened to them, it would lead to his ultimate destruction. 

Vegeta knew he had been inattentive and irritable towards her and he regretted that. He knew this was hard for her. He knew she was trying so hard to be supportive and not burden him with her fears and all he had been was cold and in different towards her, even by his standards. He knew she didn't deserve it yet he just could not seem to curb his anxiety and so he lashed out at the most convenient person possible: his mate. 

He looked at her carefully. He still had a few days; three to be exact. With the unexpected surprise of actually being able to train on his journey to meet cold he supposed he could take most of the afternoon off to spend with them. “Have you eaten?” he asked her suddenly, putting his thoughts behind him.

“Not really,”

“Let us have something to eat, shall we?” he suggested.

“I’d love to!” she replied, packing up her books and dog toys. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and capsulated her things, happy that for a few hours maybe they could be a family again.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_ **

Vegeta grunted as he finished another set of one-armed pushups at 750 time’s normal gravity, trying to put everything out of his mind. 

He hated that he had walked out on Bulma this evening. After spending the entire day training and then dealing with his father and council members he returned back to his quarters hoping to just relax for the evening and attempt to spend some time with Bulma and Trunks. However her stress levels over everything were beginning to come to a head the same as his had been and the quiet evening that was so desired by the both of them wasn’t to be.

**_Flashback_ **

 

**_“Is there a way for you to not go?” She finally asked; dinner had been strained and since he had come back for the evening, they had barely spoken more than a few words to each other. “I know you think I’m overreacting, but I seriously think you need to rethink this. Can’t you put it off a few more weeks just to be sure? I know this is something you feel you need to do and something you are looking forward to for whatever reason, I don’t quite understand it but everything within me is telling me that something is wrong. I can’t say what it is, because I don’t know what it is. All I know is that I feel it more and more the closer we get to you leaving.”_ **

**_“No, I have to do this,” he said firmly. “If I don’t, Cold will come here after me himself and that would be putting you and Trunks further at risk than you already are. Besides, what could possibly happen? I am stronger than ever, I can face just about anything. And as for your belief that my father is simply setting me up, I almost hope he has. It will make this mission more of a challenge and when I return he will have to step aside and respect me.”_ **

**_“Is that all this is about then?” she asked, trying to keep her tone calm despite her growing sense of anxiety. “Gaining your father’s respect? I understand your desire to want your father’s approval; everyone wants that from their parents, Vegeta, but at what cost? You are putting yourself at great risk and you are potentially putting me and our son at risk. What if something happens to you? Then what?_ **

**_“I’m not trying to be selfish, but I don’t have just myself to look after, I have a son to worry about. And if something happens to you, I am sure that our safety will no longer be guaranteed. Your father will get rid of us the second he finds out that you aren’t returning, should something happen to you. I’m sure he has a plan already of how he will get rid of me and Trunks should you fail.”_ **

**_“Woman, you are being irrational again,” he sighed._ **

**_“No, I’m not, Vegeta,” she insisted._ **

**_“I already told you, should something happen to me, you will be the first to know through the bond. The second that happens, should it happen, you will know and you are to leave.” he said again. “I have made all the arrangements. It is one hundred percent.”_ **

**_“I don’t want to fight with you on this.” she sighed, trying to keep herself together._ **

**_“Then don’t.”_ **

**_“Then why won’t you listen to me?” she asked. “I am genuinely afraid here and you don’t care!” She cried, choking back a sob that had been threatening to spill over for the past several minutes. Bulma picked up a napkin from the side of the table and wiped her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying, knowing that it would only upset him to see her so emotional._ **

**_“I do care,” he replied awkwardly, setting his fork down and getting up. He looked at her a moment, unsure of what to say or do to make her stop crying. She just did not understand and nothing he could say would make her understand what he was going through and why he so desperately needed to leave them behind and destroy Cold. She wasn’t raised here, she didn’t know what it was like for his entire race to have spent decades being slaves to a race that was superior to them. For the first time, they had the means to destroy them and become their own race; make their own decisions and choose their own path. He could not pass this opportunity up. Not for her, not for anything. Now was the time to strike and take back everything the Ice-jin race had taken from him and the rest of his people._ **

**_Not wanting to further upset her, he left their suite without further comment, knowing it wasn’t the best move on his part but not knowing what else he could do. Anything he seemed to say lately, seemed to only make things worse between them and he hated that._ **

**_Best he leave now rather than say something he would regret._ **

So here he was, killing himself in the grueling pressure of 750 times the normal gravity of his home planet rather than spending precious time with her and his son. He knew she needed him and that she was trying her best not to be clingy but he just could not stand it when she cried, especially when he knew he was the cause of it. Unfortunately, distancing himself emotionally from her was what he felt he needed to do. 

Vegeta stood up after finishing his last set; his shoulders burning from exertion. Perhaps he had over done it for the day by putting himself through two grueling training sessions in one day. He took a quick shower in the training grounds, being that they were completely deserted at this hour and then headed back to his chambers where he knew she'd be sleeping. 

Once there, he checked on Trunks briefly, who was sound asleep before crawling into bed next to her and carefully wrapping his arms around her waist, bringing her close to him. He knew he was hurting her but he needed to put some emotional distance between them. Just until this was all over, said and done. When he got back and they got back into a new routine, he would make it all up to her then he told himself. 

He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent that was unique to only her; trying to imprint it in his mind. He loved her scent and even though he would never come out and admit it, he would miss it while he was gone. He would miss not having her in his bed; not because of the physical benefits. Yes, he would miss that, but he would miss not having her near, he would miss her presence.

He spent so many sleepless nights stressing out and worrying about this mission and whether or not his family would be safe in his absence; but having her close by and near him was always a relief and sort of comfort to him.

Vegeta scoffed at how weak he had become; how pathetic it was that he craved her closeness, yet would not change it if he could. He knew he should tell her how much he knew it would affect him not having her near him, how much he would be distracted the moment he left, however he could not do that.

A small voice in the back of his mind was nagging at him that he could not tell her. If he told her how much he really needed her, she would use it to her advantage and convince him to stay here and ignore the threat of Cold and his army all together. Truth be told, if it weren’t for his fears of Cold coming here and destroying them all, he would gladly let her talk him into staying.

He could not though. And so it was best for the moment to distance himself from her. She would be angry and possibly despise him for it, but for the time being it was what he needed to do.

"I love you," he murmured quietly to her before he finally dozed off into an exhausted sleep.

-0-0-0-

The next morning they woke up together, much to Bulma’s surprise and delight. Recently Vegeta had taken to leaving long before she woke. They managed to have a very quick breakfast together before he left to go train for the day.

Bulma decided to stop in and visit Chi-Chi since she had gotten the okay from Vegeta that she could go and venture outside the palace if she wanted to.

She quickly fed and change Trunks before hooking Aro up and deciding to take him with her; the lengthy walk would do him some good.

As she was leaving, she ran into Asia who had apparently been on her way to come and find her with regards to making the final arrangements with her concerning caring for Tarble. 

“How is training going?” Bulma asked dryly as Asia took her to her rooms. “Vegeta actually let you leave for a bit?”

Asia smirked at her in response. “He doesn’t know I left,” she confessed. “Otherwise, I am sure he would have had a fit.”

Bulma nodded with a chuckle. “How is he?” she asked.

“How do you mean?”

“Like how is he to train with?” Bulma clarified. “I know he’s an amazing warrior and that he knows what he’s doing; I have seen him work out lots. He’s got great focus and drive but how is he to train with? I also know he can be impatient and probably expects everyone to keep up. I hope he’s not too much of a Nazi drill Sargent.”

“I don’t know what a Nazi is, but yes, he is very strict,” Asia confirmed. “He has to be; he does expect everyone to keep up but it is highly important. If they can’t, then we don’t have much use for them. It’s not personal, it’s the way it has to be.”

“So he kicks people out?”

“No, he hasn’t had to. Despite being gone for as long as he was, he chose very well in who is to come and who is to stay; I was surprised by some of the soldiers he _didn’t_ choose, actually.”

“Why?”

“Because some of them are close comrades of his; while growing up there were several of them around the same age and they were very nearly inseparable,” she said. “Not that he did not choose some of them because they aren’t decent warriors, they are or they wouldn’t have made it as far as they have; but he has chosen more of the serious, experienced, battle seasoned soldiers to come with him. For example, I was shocked that he did not choose Kakarott to accompany us. Those two have always been together for everything. Growing up if you saw one, if the other wasn’t with him, then he wouldn’t be far behind." 

“Yea, he wants him to stay here and keep an eye on Trunks and myself.” Bulma admitted. “If you still want me to look after your son that will include him as well.”

Asia gave her an almost relieved look at that news. “I trust Kakarott,” she said 

“I know, I do too. And his mate is really nice as well. You can trust her too.” Bulma told her, hoping to give the girl some extra reassurance that her son would be in good hands while she was gone. “But I was surprised too that he was so adamant on Kakarott staying here; I know they are very close. I just hope he’s not hindering himself. He’s told me stories time and again what a great ally Kakarott is and how well they work together.”

Asia nodded in agreement. “I don’t know how he made his choice, but I am under the impression that strategy-wise he isn’t too sure what to expect once we make it over there. Some of the men coming are excellent tacticians and have won their way through some of the direst of circumstances with the odds completely out of their favor.”

Bulma nodded and smiled to herself. That made her feel a little bit better. She thought guiltily about how she had been on his case so much, assuming that he was just blindly jumping into a battle head long with no thought on anything but for winning. She should have known better than to assume he would be so careless. “So you think you guys will be alright?”

“Absolutely,” she answered without hesitation.

“Good.” Bulma said, actually feeling a bit better as she followed the other girl into a different room from the sitting room they were currently in.

There was a petite girl in the nursery, sitting and reading some sort of book while the infant was sleeping. “This is Bulma, she will be dropping by and looking after Tarble in my absence. Your duties will remain the same and you will look after him when she can’t but she has full authority where he is concerned.”

“Yes, your grace,” the girl said, curtseying.

“You may leave but come back within the hour.” Asia said to her.

“Thank you,” she said and promptly left the room quickly.

“That is Neelah,” Asia said, realizing once the girl had exited that she had not actually formally introduced them. “She watches over Tarble full time. If there is any problem with him, she will notify you. It is her main duties to keep him fed and changed. That’s about it.”

“He’s not still…?” Bulma started to ask. “I mean, you don’t still nurse him?”

“No,” she scoffed. “I quit that after about a month. Don’t tell me you’re still?”

Bulma felt her cheeks redden slightly, “I am, yea. I just recently started gradually weaning him.”

“Huh,” she grunted. “Cultural thing?”

“Yea, some women nursed their babies until they are about a year old; some two years but that wasn’t overly common from what I remember,” she nodded.

“Oh god, I couldn’t imagine nursing him for more than the month that I did. I didn’t even do it the full month; by the time he was a month old, he was on formula and he’s just started on solid food.”

“Yea, Trunks is on both,” Bulma said, looking at the sleeping baby. “I’m still enjoying this stage with him and I kind of wish he would just stay like this for another few months.”

“You’d be the only person I have ever met in my life who would wish for such a thing,” she snorted. “I can’t wait till he’s bigger and actually not helpless.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to that too,” Bulma corrected herself. “It’s different. I just want to cherish the baby stage now before it’s done and I never will get it back again.”

“I never thought of it,” she shrugged. “I, personally never wanted to be pregnant or be dealing with a small baby but here I am.”

“You don’t want any more kids then I take it?”

“Are you kidding me?” she snorted. “I can’t get _Him_ to have even the remotest bit of interest in Tarble. Yea, thanks I’d love to sign up for another.” she said bitterly picking him up carefully from his crib. 

“Sorry,” Bulma said awkwardly, not sure why she had asked that without thinking.

“Any more brats in your future?” Asia asked her pointedly. “You seemed to have recovered really well, frankly I am surprised you even survived. My pregnancy was horrible.”

“It wasn’t easy, no, but I was okay. I don’t think we’ll be having any more either.” She answered, hoping she would not ask on the specifics.

“Just as well,” Asia shrugged. “Do you want to hold him?”

“I’d like that!” Bulma nodded. “Can I put Trunks down in his crib?”

“Sure.”

Bulma placed Trunks into the much larger crib. He was awake but not fussing and she hoped he would stay quiet.

Asia handed her the small Saiyan baby carefully; he was still asleep. Bulma smiled as she looked at him. “He sure looks like his father,” she commented _and his brother_ , she added to herself. She could not help but wonder if Vegeta was disappointed that Trunks didn’t look more like him? If he was, he’d never mentioned it or thought on it as far as she knew. “You’re just a little guy, aren’t you?” she said quietly to the small baby.

Asia nodded once and turned to look at Trunks who was looking around quietly. “Can I pick him up?”

“Oh yea, go ahead. He’s fine.”

Asia picked him up and looked at him closely. For a half-Saiyan child, he sure was big, she thought to herself. He weighed much more than Tarble did. Trunks looked at her curiously; he was usually pretty good around strangers, much to Bulma’s relief. “He actually looks a lot like his father as well,” she commented, now having had a really good look at Trunks. “I mean, he has light hair and eyes like you, but I can definitely see Vegeta’s looks there as well.”

“Thank you,” Bulma smiled. “Not a lot of people notice that. Vegeta was quite surprised that he looked more like me than him, but that’s the luck of the draw, hey? Maybe it’s a good thing, we wouldn’t be able to tell these two apart when they get older.” she joked.

“Right,” Asia nodded, noticing that Tarble was waking up.

“Wow, aren’t you quiet,” Bulma commented as Tarble woke up and didn’t fuss, just looked at her curiously. “If you were Trunks, you’d be howling up a storm by now.”

“Really?” Asia smirked, looking at Trunks again, who just seemed content looking at everyone, though had his father’s trademark scowl across his features.

“Oh yea,” Bulma chuckled. “He’s almost never happy when he wakes up.”

“Tarble’s pretty good. He doesn’t fuss too much,” Asia said proudly. “And if he does, that’s what Neelah’s for.”

“I guess,” Bulma shrugged, though she decided that if she could, she would make a point of sending a little more time with the baby. She didn’t have anything else to do, right?

The two women spent almost an hour talking and comparing notes. It was surprising to them both how similar the two boys were. They eventually set them down together in Tarble’s large crib for a moment as Asia went through where to find everything from his baby formula to his clothing and anything else.

Finally they parted ways and Bulma decided to continue on with her original plan to visit Chi-Chi. It took her pretty much the early afternoon to make it to Bardock’s place.

“How's everything?" Chi-Chi asked as soon as they had put the boys down together.

"Alright." She sighed. 

"I know that tone, which means it isn't. What's wrong?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Nothing. I'm just stressed and so is Vegeta."

"Is he being an asshole?"

Bulma shrugged, not really wanting to admit to that. "Not intentionally, no. He's got a lot on his plate."

"That doesn't make it alright, Bulma. What about what you're going through?" 

"I know." She nodded, not wanting to argue with her. "It's fine. I'm just tired and stressed out and a whole lot over sensitive right now and I know I'm not helping. I'm being just as irritable to him as he is being with me. It's not all him."

"I was going to ask you if you wanted us to look after Trunks for the evening before he leaves." Chi-Chi suggested. "Or did you guys want to spend your last night together as a family?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "We haven't really thought about it to be honest. Let me ask Vegeta what he wants to do. I know this sounds terrible but I almost wish he'd just leave already and get this thing over and done with so that he can come back and we can have a somewhat normal life again."

"Sounds to me like you guys are desperately in need of some alone time, Bulma. Or at least an opportunity to unwind just a little. Don't let him leave with you two on bad terms."

"I know, I don’t want that either. It's just everything is wearing us both down so much. We both get frustrated and..."

"You take it out on each other. I know. I lived with you guys for a while, remember? Sometimes I think you two are just too much alike. You're both explosive."

"Yea, I know." 

"I'll tell you what, Kakarott and I will take Trunks for you guys. Ask Vegeta what he wants to do and if he wants to be with both of you then fine but know that it's an option." 

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"It's fine. Goten misses him."

"Yea, but they'll be seeing more of each other while Vegeta's gone. I don't want to encroach any more on your life than I already am."

"Nonsense!"

"Alright. I'll let you know. Thank you." She said hugging her friend. "By the way, I still didn't tell you what I did."

What did you do?"

"Well, you're never going to believe this and I still can't myself, but Asia has been selected to go with them and asked me to look after her son while she is away.”

“Well that’s weird,” Chi-Chi agreed. “So, are you going to do it?”

“Yea,” she nodded. “I feel bad for her! Vegeta wasn’t overly amused with my decision but he’s the one leaving me here all on my own with nothing to do. If I need to leave because I think his father is up to something, I told her I would leave with her son and keep him safe with Trunks and I. She agreed and so it’s a done deal.”

“Are you sure you can trust her to no be setting you up for trouble while she’s gone?” Chi-Chi asked cautiously. “Like kidnapping a royal prince or something?”

“I thought of that and so did Vegeta but I think she is truly fearful of something happening to him while she is gone. That was the sense I got.”

“Alright, well, let me know if you need help. It’s a handful with just Trunks and Goten at times.”

Bulma chuckled. “I know, hey?”

“On that note, I have some news to share with you.” Chi-Chi said with a mischievous smile.

“What?”

“I just found out that I’m pregnant again.” she said, just beaming.

“Really! Oh my goodness, Chi! That’s wonderful, I hope?”

“Yea, it is.” she affirmed. “We’re both pretty excited and so are his parents. His mother is just thrilled and looking forward to helping me out and being there for us since she wasn’t when we had Goten. It’s been a little overwhelming, actually but I’m actually glad she’s around. If we were still on Callisto, I don’t think I would be nearly as excited to be going through this again.”

Bulma gave her friend a hug. “I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks! Now all we need is for you and Vegeta to have another one.”

“Yea, I don’t think so.” she chuckled. “He’s not anywhere near willing to go through any of that again. I don’t know how it was for you, but towards the end it was pretty scary. I don’t remember much but apparently I almost bled to death. Thank goodness we’d gone where we had because Vegeta didn’t think the regen tank would have been enough. One of the first things he’d said to me once I was coherent was _‘Never again.’”_

“Yea, but he’s always overreacting,” she rolled her eyes. “Things weren’t easy for me either, but I made it alright. I spent I think half a day in the regen tank? And that was because Kakarott and your father insisted on it. I don’t think I needed it. Though I wasn’t as exhausted I think because of it. It wasn’t so bad that it turned me off completely.”

“Me neither, but we’ll see.” she shrugged. “Maybe when he comes back he’ll have changed his mind. I’m happy with just Trunks for the time being so it’s not a huge issue right now.”

“Well I think it would be so neat if you had a little girl that looks just like you,” Chi-Chi giggled. “I think Vegeta would just melt as well.”

“Wouldn’t that be interesting,” she agreed. “How about you, do you want a girl or another boy this time?”

“I don’t really know,” she shrugged. “A girl would be nice, but then a boy could go out and lay with Goten and they could go amuse themselves. Kakarott could go take them to train, you know. But If I had a girl, then I would probably not have to fight over having her joining the Saiyan army. I’m still not happy that everyone expects that of Goten. There’s lots of men in town here who are builders, butchers and farmers, not warriors. Why can’t my kid be one of those?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, understanding her friend’s concern. “Why not let him decide when he’s old enough what he wants to do?”

“And Vegeta will let you do that with Trunks?”

“Probably not, but you’re situation is different from mine. You have that freedom. Trunks will probably not have much of a choice but who knows, Vegeta is so looking forward to training with him, he may just naturally follow in his father’s footsteps and if that’s what he wants, then I’ll have to be okay with it.”

After staying a little longer, Bulma decided it was time to head back to the palace. It was late enough in the day that she made sure a meal would be sent to her and Vegeta’s quarters in the next hour or so. She hoped they could have a nice quiet dinner together and he would agree to take the day off tomorrow to spend with her.

Unfortunately, dinner came and went and it wasn’t until mid-evening before he showed up. He wasn’t in the best of moods and took a quick shower before digging into his now cold meal. She left him alone to eat in peace before deciding on approaching him about what he had in mind for the next day.

"What do you want to do tomorrow before you leave?" She asked, hoping more than anything they could have some meaningful private time together. She so desperately needed him before he left. 

Vegeta shrugged and grunted indifferently as he finished his dinner and looked at her. Truthfully he wanted nothing more than to have a day with just her before he left, but he feared if he did just that, he wouldn't be able to leave. 

Her heart sunk at his nonchalant response. "Whatever then. If you don't care, then neither do I." She sighed, trying to mask her frustration and hurt from him as she turned to leave and head out onto the balcony to pull herself together and not cry in front of him. She had the other day despite her best efforts not to and all she had gotten from him was a look of contempt before he left to go train himself into exhaustion.

She hadn't been sure how late it was when he finally came to their bed but she woke up with his arms around her, holding her close. 

Bulma was stopped by a vice like grip on her upper arm before she made it outside. "Just leave me alone, Vegeta." 

"What did you have in mind?" He asked, ignoring her weak struggles to get away from him.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just wanted to spend some quality _us_ time before you left or is that breaking some cardinal warrior rule?" 

He chuckled at her sarcasm. "No, it is perfectly acceptable for a male to take his fill of his woman before he leaves for battle."

"I see," she nodded, not overly enthused with his choice of words. 

"What has you troubled now?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing, it's just I know you're busy and stressed out but you haven't made any time for Trunks and I-"

"Did I not take a few hours off from everything the other day to make time for you and the boy?" He reminded her.

"Yes, you did and that was nice but you were so distracted and distant that I felt like you'd have rather been someplace else." She complained, knowing that picking a fight with him right now was the worst idea but not being able to refrain. "Vegeta, I can't even remember the last time you gave me your undivided attention.

"I know that you're stressed out and have a thousand things going on that you need to see to and I am trying to understand that but I need to feel like Trunks and I are more than just an afterthought to you. I love you and I miss you! And I am terrified of everything and being left here alone and losing you. All I want is for us to spend some real time together before you leave and you act disinterested and then joke about how it's acceptable to simply fuck me senseless before you go because it's a rite of passage for a warrior or some shit? Really, how do you think that makes me feel?"

He quickly removed his hand from her arm and placed it on her shoulder, shoving her against the door frame. Not hard enough to hurt her or inflict any damage but to get her attention.

Aro stood from where he had been sleeping and growled at them.

"Piss off, dog." He snarled at him, staring him down for a moment. While he was angry and definitely not in the mood, he was impressed the dog did not back down. He simply lay a few feet away, watching them both carefully.

"You talk too much." He growled at her.

"And you don't feel enough!" She snapped back fearlessly, not backing down.

"So what is it you want from me because I cannot seem to win here," he said, deadly calm. "You have my undivided attention right now and all you are doing is bitching. You want to be fucked? You don't want to be fucked? What is it you want from me?"

"I just want us to be _us_ again!" She cried. "I want to feel loved, like I matter to you."

He released his hold on her and exhaled heavily in aggravation. “Woman, I do not know what it is you expect of me. Have I not spent just as much time in my absence from you exhausting every outlet possible to ensure yours and the brat’s safety while I am gone and have put into place an escape plan as well if need be? Why would I waste valuable training time with my men and for myself on someone that did not matter to me?" He blew up at her.

"I _know_ we matter but you make me feel-"

"You say I feel too little, maybe you feel too much!" He argued back. "If you _know_ you matter then _why_ are we arguing?"

"Because sometimes it's nice to hear, Vegeta," she said in a hurt tone. "I know you care for us but sometimes knowing isn't enough. You never tell me and you haven't been exactly pleasant to be around. I know you think it's silly but I make the point in telling you every opportunity that I can that I love you because who knows what can happen!"

"Not this ridiculousness again," he growled, pinching the bridge of his nose.  "Once again, you doubt my feelings and capability to keep you safe?"

"No!"

"Then _what_?" He hissed, very close to wanting to blast something nearby.

"You _never_ tell me!"

"I have told it to you time and again," he argued.

"Ya? When, Vegeta? When was the last time you told me you loved me?" She challenged him. She knew she was being a nag, but he hadn’t told her he loved her since long before Trunks was born. He had said it to her when things had finally been resolved between them and that had been it. Sure she knew not to expect him to tell her all of the time, they had the bond, she didn’t need to constantly hear it; but things had been so strained between them since they had arrived here that for him to be distancing himself from her and refusing to acknowledge to her how he felt when she needed it from him hurt her deeply. Especially since he was leaving her in a day and a half. She needed to hear it from him.

He groaned to himself, not seeing the point in having this argument. Hadn't he just told her the other night, he recalled. She'd been sleeping; however that still counted in his book. He shrugged in response. 

"Let me show you," he finally said, crashing his lips to hers and pressing himself up against her body so that she was trapped between the door frame to the balcony and himself. While he was still good and pissed off, he was definitely more than a little aroused from their current argument. 

"No, I want you to tell me," she sighed as she kissed him back.

"Give me a few hours. Once I am done with you, you will not need foolish words," he whispered into her ear before brushing his lips along her jawline towards her mouth again.

Bulma moved her face to the side, avoiding another searing kiss from him. Knowing she was pushing the envelope with him but past the point of caring at the moment, she placed a hand on his chest, pushing him away lightly. "Vegeta," she said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat

"Hmmmn..?" he replied, ignoring her pushing against him to back off as he brought a thigh up between her legs, parting them as he began to grind his hips into hers and slowly trailed his mouth up along her jaw line and down her neck again, nipping and sucking lightly at the delicate skin. She moaned quietly, wanting to give in to him but she was still upset with him. He was missing the point completely.

"Do you not agree that _feeling_ something is better than hearing something, that actions can speak many volumes over the mumblings of a few meaningless words," he growled seductively into her ear as he trailed a hand down her side and placed it on her hip, just beneath where her top ended, brushing his fingers along the bare flesh of her sides. 

"They aren't meaningless to me." She replied breathlessly, trying to not lose focus. Damn him for knowing how to turn her into putty in his hands within seconds!  

"I realize that, but we are wasting time with words when we could be taking and giving and feeling for one another," he argued, strategically running both of his hands down the length of her body beneath her shirt now, caressing her the way he knew she loved, waiting for her to give into him. The stalemate and current battle of wills turning him on more than he would have liked to admit. She didn't usually make him work this hard for her. No matter, he did not mind all that much. He would wear her down and make her forget this silliness she was hung up on. If it took him all night, he would make sure that she knew how deeply he felt for her. Then, _maybe_ he would tell her. Truth be told, he did want to tell her before he left, especially after what happened to them last time he had s foolishly avoided verbalizing the ridiculous sentiment. However he wanted it to be on his terms, not hers. Not to mention he could not help but be amused now over her bitchiness over something so trivial that he felt should not be an issue between them after all this time.

"I need you, Woman," he whispered into her ear, slipping a hand down the front of her shorts, but not actually touching her; knowing that would drive her crazy, expecting her to cave to him any time now. 

She inhaled sharply as he finally dipped his hand into her flimsy panties, slipping a finger inside of her, slowly playing with her insides almost expertly as he felt her body tremble against him from his touch. As her body began to respond, and her hips voluntarily on their own accord began to move against his hand, she managed to catch herself, reach down and removed his hand from pleasuring her.

He quit his ministrations with his mouth on her neck and grunted questioningly at her, looking at her in confusion.

“I love you,” she said, looking at him; her face dead serious, her eyes searching his pleadingly for a response from him.

“I know,” he nodded as he dipped his head down again, kissing and lightly nipping her neck and pinning her arm that had stopped him from pleasuring her, to her side against the wall.

“Do you,” she whispered, trying to keep her thoughts organized and not let this pass. She needed to hear him say that he loved her before he left. She knew it was silly, but she needed to hear it now, more than ever before.

He quit what he was doing again for a moment, reeling in his growing need and glared at her. Of course he _knew_! He winced as she suddenly stroked his tail gently with her free hand in the most pleasant form of torture, reserved for her alone. He took that as permission to proceed and began undoing the front of her shorts but she placed a hand on his again; a silent request for him to stop. “Yes,” he hissed finally in response.

“Do you love me?” she asked, her tone insistent this time.

**_What the hell kind of a ridiculous question is that?_** He growled at her half in frustration that she was pushing the issue and half in his insane need for her that had built up to a near frenzy at this point. Why now? He did not want to think about anything at the moment.

**_It isn’t ridiculous._** She replied, still stroking his tail gently, almost teasingly, knowing full well the effect that simple ministration had on him.

He rested his forehead against hers, looking at her intensely. “Don’t, Bulma,” he growled at her in frustration at her; for her doing this now while he was so riled up, fondling his tail nonetheless and for her ridiculous neediness right now of all times. **_You already know the answer to that._**

**_I need to hear it before you leave._** She replied, removing her hand from his and wrapping a leg around his waist, drawing him close so that she could move against his groin. He slid his tail from her grasp before she could take further advantage and managed to wrap it around her waist and slip it down the front of her shorts, letting it brush against her clit. He knew how much she loved it when he pleasured her with his tail.

“I am not leaving for another thirty two hours or so.” He reminded her between grunts as she ground her center into his aching groin.   

“I know,” she sighed as her body began to pulse with pleasure even though they were both still fully clothed. However, she still wanted something from him and she was still aware enough to realize that he was using everything in his arsenal to get her to just give into him. _Well, two could play at that game_ , she thought to herself wickedly. “Tell me how-” she moaned, wishing to god he would just let up already and tell her; she didn’t know about his need, but her own so intense that she could barely stand to put him off anymore.

"I can think of many ways to _show_ you exactly _how_ I feel, Woman." He said as he tore the front of her shirt down the front, exposing her breasts to him and taking a nipple into his mouth, pawing her other breast with one hand and placing the one under her bum on the side where her leg was around his hip, pushing her a little further up against the door frame and supporting her weight, anticipating taking her at any moment now.

While he was busy rejoicing in her ample breasts and lavishing them with his mouth, she managed to bring the leg that was now propped up round his hip down, closing her center off from him and was able to take hold of his tail.

He hissed and shuddered in response, almost immediately as she took it with both hands. “If you don’t stop that,” he growled against her breast, nipping the nipple lightly.

She smirked at him deviously, still stroking his tail more boldly, knowing she was being deliberately cruel now in her methods, but not being able to stop. She grinned as his breath hitched harshly again from her fondling the soft, furry appendage. “Come on, Vegeta. Just tell me, and then you can show me,” she almost begged, her own need almost to the point where she was close to just letting him have his way.

Vegeta gasped like a man suffocating as a flash back hit him right then and there of a time he would do anything to forget.

**_“Come on, Vegeta. Just tell me why you did not do as I asked and then you can go about your day.”_ **

**_Frieza’s syrupy voice taunted him as he stood over him, bloodied and beaten in his throne room._ **

**_He was eleven years old and had just returned from the most difficult mission he had ever been on. Instead of destroying every inhabitant on that planet, he had allowed the planet’s leader, his family and anyone else the leader could round up within a thirty minute time span take one of their ships and go find their own salvation. He wasn’t sure why he had done it, he had known that it would cost him big should anyone find out. He hadn’t even told Kakarott._ **

**_He had told Zarbon and Dodoria that he had been attacked and held hostage in order for them to hijack one of their ships. Unfortunately, he hadn’t thought that one through well enough and they had caught on immediately to his fib because he had returned unscathed, without so much as a scratch on his armor or bruise on his person._ **

**_In the end it had all been for nothing. Zarbon had gone after the ship by way of sport and once they had caught up to it, had made Vegeta shoot it down himself._ **

**_Now, here he was, paying the price for it; Frieza had beaten him nearly senseless in front of all of his superiors and anyone else who was seeking some midafternoon entertainment._ **

**_He cried out as the lizard grabbed his tail, more than likely the only thing in his body not broken or damaged. He began stroking in gently; a stark contrast to everything he had inflicted on him so far._ **

**_Gods no, not the tail. He hated the damned thing with a passion! If it weren’t for the great shame and ridicule he would be faced with, not to mention his father would most likely disown him, he would sever the thing himself. Yes it would be excruciating, but then it would no longer be a weakness to him. Pain and torment from a beating he could handle; but the embarrassment and shame he would feel as a result made him hate himself completely for being open to such a violation._ **

**_Frieza stroked the length of his tail gently a few more times before suddenly pinching one of the delicate vertebra near the tip and crushing it._ **

**_Vegeta clenched his teeth, trying to not utter a sound. He would never understand how such a thing could be so much more excruciating than a simple kick to the ribs or a back hand to the jaw. He choked back a moan of agony as Frieza crushed another vertebrae._ ** ****

**_“Silly, stubborn monkey,” he said almost comfortingly as he went back to stroking his tail gently. “All you have to do is tell me. Tell me why you felt the need to be these people’s savior when my explicit instructions were for everyone on that dump of a planet to be eradicated.”_ **

**_Vegeta didn’t reply. He didn’t know what his reasons were! Not only had he not given it much thought, but with the amount of misery he was feeling at the moment made it hard for him to think rationally about anything else._ **

**_“I suppose we are going to drag this out much longer than that which is necessary, I see.” Frieza sighed. “I hope no one has any other pressing matters to attend to. Vegeta, it would seem, likes to have an audience for his punishments. Does anyone know what manipulating the tail of a Saiyan really does to them?”_ **

**_There were a few chuckles throughout the throne room from Zarbon and a few of the other generals and soldiers who were all familiar with Frieza’s methods of “dealing” with Vegeta. A few of them didn’t particularly care for him and his cocky attitude so they found it amusing. A few others did feel pity for him and did not agree but would never step in to object to his treatment for fear of becoming the receiving end of a beating for having the nerve of interfering in one of Frieza’s favorite past times. No one wanted to be a spectacle in Frieza’s throne room when he was in one of his moods, which he seemed to be in at the moment._ **

Vegeta ceased his ministrations almost immediately a second later as he forced the wretched memory from his mind and looked down at her, trying to swallow the wave of disappointment and slight resentment aimed towards her that she would go so far as to try and manipulate him this way. First by denying him of herself; that was something she had never done. But mostly for using his tail in an effort to manipulate him to get him to say or do what she wanted of him at the moment.

That was what hurt him the most. She knew what he had gone through and how the effects of it still were an open wound that he nursed only on his own. She knew that, she was the only one in this universe that knew anything about Frieza and his insidious methods he used to demean him and exploit him. He had never shared explicit details or the full extent of any of it with her and he doubted he would ever be able to either, but he had trusted her enough to fill her in on the bare basics and none of the gory details. He trusted her with that; that she would never exploit that information for her own gain and never had she resorted to such a debased way of getting what she wanted out of him.

She never needed to. There was not much he would deny her.

Bulma gasped as she heard and saw his thoughts ever so briefly for only a split second before he blocked her out from his mind, closing himself off completely from her. “I’m sorry!” she cried out. In her self-seeking need, she had acted only on pure selfishness alone without even thinking before acting out. “I am so sorry, Vegeta, I didn’t mean it.”

For the first time in their union, she felt regret from him and it broke her heart because she never meant to make him feel that way; not now when she really did just need the verbal confirmation, not ever. “I didn’t mean it. Don't leave, Vegeta, please!" She cried, reaching for his hand, but he quickly pulled it out of her grasp. 

"I must see to a few things." he growled, stepping away from her, needing to put some distance between them.

"I am so sorry!"

"I know," He snipped at her a little more harshly than he'd intended. He glared at her intensely for a moment, contemplating what to do. He knew he should not be angry at her, she had not meant to upset him and if he was honest with himself, he was essentially trying to do the exact same thing to her only she had been able to turn the tables and gain the upper hand within seconds. That was what was bothering him the most.

"Make whatever arrangements you wish for tomorrow," he said, getting himself more or less in control of his emotions. "I will take the day off to spend with you and Trunks.” With that he left, shutting the door harder than necessary. 

When he looked up, he was unnerved to see his father standing there in the hallway, on his way towards his own living quarters for the evening.

"What is it, boy?" He smirked arrogantly at his disheveled appearance. "Trouble in paradise?"

Vegeta snarled at him. "Mind your own business, old man."

He smirked at his son. "Did the bitch kick you out? I recognize the walk of shame when I see it." 

"She did not. I voluntarily took my leave before I did something I would regret.” He reluctantly stated.

"Come and have a drink with me." His father said after a long, awkward pause. "I suspect you will be distracted between now and your departure."

Vegeta thought for a moment. He had planned on going to train for a bit to work out his aggravation, however decided a drink with his father may not be such a bad idea. Maybe he had come across some new Intel that could be potentially valuable.

"Alright." He agreed, nodding once.

He followed his father into his living quarters, noting that he could not remember the last time he had been in there. It looked exactly the same as he remembered it to. 

"You're mate is not here?" He asked, not wanting to stick around for a drink if she was. It was bad enough that he would be stuck with her on the ship to and from this mission. 

"She has her own quarters." His father replied, pouring a drink for himself and his son. 

Vegeta grunted in response, accepting his drink.

"Not that I would expect you to follow any advice that I have; you never follow it anyway, however I highly recommend you consider the same."

"I should think not," he snorted. While he was annoyed with Bulma and even himself for the way things had been between them as of late, he could never see himself doing that to her, nor wanting to live that way either.

"Go to her when the mood strikes you or have her stay with you for a night but you should have your own space," his father advised. "And the woman must know her place. She is to act as a reprieve and solace to you in times of difficult stress and a prize to be had on joyous occasions; not something to be doted on as you consistently are doing. It will lead to your ruin, boy."

"Enough." Vegeta sighed. "How I handle things regarding _my_ mate is of no concern to you.

"I suppose," his father sighed. "My advice, take your fill of her now, get her out of your system and forget about her while you are on your mission; you have no room for distractions of any kind."

"I am aware of this." 

"Good." His father nodded, watching his son carefully, observing his stiff and clearly agitated body language as he sat there for several moments in silence, enjoying his drink and looking as though he were deep in thought. "If you require me to intervene on your behalf to do something you are unable to do yourself, just say the word, son." He finally added cautiously.

Vegeta put his glass down and glared daggers at his father and the implications behind that statement.

"It can all be taken care of and be made right in your absence. No one would question it or judge you,” he continued on, refilling his son’s near empty glass. “We have all made silly mistakes with a woman in our youth; myself included. However, I did not allow it to go on to the extent you have. I had a bit more sense than that I like to think."

"Enough," Vegeta said in a quiet tone, his anger beginning to boil over the surface. 

"I am only trying to help. Even I can see how agitated you are,” he objected. “I realize that I missed a lot in your youth due to my own weaknesses. Had I been more attentive, perhaps you would not have taken this path. Let me help you fix this problem you have created. When you return, there will be not even the smallest trace that she or her brat ever-" 

Before he had a chance to finish the sentence or react, Vegeta had him by the throat and hauled up against the wall, despite the dramatic height difference. 

His father choked in panic, completely unable to breathe; he had definitely not seen this coming.

"You will listen and you will listen well," he said dangerously to his father through gritted teeth, forcing him down to the floor, as his hand was still tightly gripping his throat. "You are not to touch a single hair on her or my son's head. Do you understand? Do not think you will get away with doing anything to either of them in my absence. If you do, when I return I will destroy you in the most horrifying and prolonged manner that I can conjure up and when you beg for death as a release, I will prolong my efforts to drag your demise out as long as I possibly can. That is what you will have to look forward to upon my return should anything befall either of them or if I find out you even look at her in a way which makes her feel uncomfortable. Do you understand, old man? Or are you too decrepit to make sense of what it is I am telling you?"

His father nodded frantically, still unable to breathe. "Yes," he wheezed. 

Vegeta let him go and took a step back from him, looking at him in disgust. "If I wasn't leaving the day after tomorrow, I would destroy you now. However, as it so happens, I am quite looking forward to destroying Cold and I trust your remaining advisors and cabinet members even less than I trust you. I would need to destroy all of them as well and I do not have the time as of now." He said thoughtfully, knocking back the rest of his drink like a shot. 

"You cannot do that," his father coughed. "You will throw the entire planet into a state of civil war." 

"Like I give a shit." He snorted, pouring himself another drink.

"No one wants to follow a tyrant, Vegeta."

"Says the tyrant." He chuckled darkly. "It is a non-issue so long as you and your band of fools leave my woman alone, any and all uproar can be avoided." He said, quickly finishing his third drink and glancing at his father who was still on the floor, nursing his neck and throat. 

"You have my word," 

"Good. I am not to be disturbed for any reason until the scheduled departure time." He said, dumping the remaining contents of his father's drink on his slumped form on the floor before leaving.

The king watched his son leave, giving him a murderous glare as he slammed the door behind him. "Goodbye, my son." He muttered angrily before getting up off the floor. 

He grabbed the nearest cloth and wiped the liquor off of himself before tossing it to the ground and refilling his glass. 

The elder Vegeta leaned over the small drink table with his hands balled in fists, seething in anger. He hated that girl more than he ever remembered hating anyone in his lifetime, and that was saying something. 

Very well, he would leave his son to his whore for the remainder of his time here and he would even steer completely away from her while he was on his way to Cold. It was an estimated three weeks travel. That left him three weeks to decide what he was going to do to that blue haired trollop. He was going to take great pleasure in breaking her and making her wish she had never met and corrupted his son.

He would bide his time and once his son was in Cold's custody only then would he make his move. He would also make sure that Cold would keep his son fully informed of whatever it was he decided to do to her. 

Up until this moment he had been rethinking his position on betraying his own son. That had been part of the reason behind his wanting to visit with his son before he left for battle. He had been looking for a reason to not go through with it. However since his son chose a relationship with some girl over him that was it; as far as he was concerned, he had no son.

The King finished his drink before pouring himself yet another. He would grieve now for what was about to take place within a very few short weeks so that when things happened, he would have the unwavering strength to see this course through to the end.

 

-0-0-0-

 

Vegeta returned to his quarters immediately having left his father’s room, angry and distraught, fully aware of the fact that he most likely had just made things worse.

He stormed into their bedroom, looking for Bulma, wondering if she had left after their last stupid interaction. He felt shame envelop him; they both had acted completely out of line and had nearly damaged each other over something so stupid that neither of them wanted to bend on. Had it been worth it? He didn’t think so. Especially now after that rather disturbing conversation with his father. He was certain his father would not try anything while he was gone, but if he did, he needed Bulma to know how he felt about her and Trunks. Even if it meant demeaning himself for an evening.

"Woman!" He called out, frantically looking around for her.

"What?!" She hissed at him, coming out of the bathroom with Trunks bundled up. 

So she hadn't left. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, noting his angry state and immediately felt a wave of fear wash through her. Was he still that angry with her? She herself was ashamed for her conduct and only hoped that he would forgive her for attempting something low.

He took several long strides across the room towards her and embraced them both. "I am sorry, Woman." He murmured to her.

"So am I, I wasn't thinking, Vegeta-"

He silenced her with a kiss and wrapped an arm around her waist, guiding her towards their bed. "Hang on, let me put Trunks to bed."

"No, bring him." He said.

"You never let him sleep with us though." 

"For tonight I will make the exception." He said, removing his flight suit and looking for something practical to sleep in. He settled on a loose pair of pants.

Bulma smiled at him and carefully crawled into bed, doing her best to not wake Trunks. While Vegeta had been gone she'd given him a bath and had gotten him to sleep.

Within just a few minutes, he was in bed next to them, his arm around her, holding her close and Trunks nestled comfortably in between them.

"Where did you go?" She asked softly, resting her head on his shoulder. She could smell the slight scent of alcohol on his breath.

"Nowhere." He replied. "I was going to train and hopefully put my fist through someone but ran into my father. We had a drink and conversed somewhat."

"And it didn't go well, I'm assuming?" 

"What makes you say that?" He asked almost defensively.

"Well, for starters you weren't gone for very long. Secondly you came back looking even angrier than when you left. Even now, I can feel you're disturbed and you're shaking somewhat and I can smell that you've been drinking."

"Hmmmn." He grunted, resting his head against hers and looking at their sleeping son. Yes, he had been drinking but he had not consumed enough that his thoughts were impaired. 

Neither of them spoke for a long time. They just lay there quietly, holding each other. 

"Bulma,"

"Hmm?" She moaned, already having begun dozing off. 

"The second something feels off I need you to promise that you will drop everything and leave." He said softly; he needed to let her in on the other half of his plan he had kept from her. "I do not care what your reasons are or what you are doing." 

"Of course, Vegeta." She nodded. "Wasn't that the plan anyway?"

"Yes, but I want there to be no question that this is what I expect of you." He said leaning away from her towards his night stand and reaching inside the drawer. He blindly rummaged through for a moment before he moved close to her again, presenting her with a dark grey capsule. 

"What's this?" She asked, turning it in her fingers, looking for a label as a hint. 

"Do not open it here." He said quickly. "It is our ship that we left Callisto with. It is fueled and ready to go, I had Bardock personally run a diagnostic on it; it is sound. Everything you may need is there, it is even stocked with enough frozen food and freeze dried meals that you could get by easily for almost three months. There is money for you should you need to do repairs or need anything else. It is all cash in universal currency so you cannot not be traced or tracked by anyone. No one here, aside from Bardock, knows of the ships existence so you may disappear without a trace if you have to on your own without Kakarott should something with the existing plan goes wrong."

"You did all of this?" She asked softly, feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt wash through her for her harsh words to him earlier. She already felt bad for her conduct, now she was ashamed and feeling like she should hands down win the bitchiest, most ungrateful wife in the universe award. She wondered why he even put up with her as of late.

**_Because I have not acted much better and yet you still put up with me._** He replied dryly.

"We both suck, I guess." She sighed. "Thank you for this," she said twirling the small capsule between her fingers carefully. "I will keep it on me at all times."

“Be sure that you do,” he said. “I have noticed you have not been wearing your plasma shield. You may need it.”

“I know,” she sighed. “It’s charging. Trunks always has his on though.”

“Good. See that you do too.” He wrapped his tail around her waist, pulling both her and Trunks close to him; his way of letting her know all was forgiven. 

He absently let his fingers trail up the side of her arm, making her shiver at his touch.  

"Sleep," he said quietly. "Tomorrow we will set things right." 

Bulma nodded once and shifted into a more comfortable position close to him before quickly falling asleep in his arms. 

It took a long time for sleep to claim him as he laid there with his family in his arms, listening to them breathe, watching them sleep.

He had been so hard on her the past few weeks and now the thought of it made him feel nothing but shame. He wished more than anything that he could go back and undo it.

Tomorrow he would make it up to her, he promised himself. Whatever she wanted, whatever she needed to hear he would do it. Who knew how long it would be before they would be together again. Not to mention the conversation with his father was still fresh on his mind and had left him more than disturbed. 

He didn't think his father was dumb enough to do anything to his family while he was gone, but at least he knew Bulma had every option available to her to get herself and Trunks to safety if she needed to. He only hoped that she would not stick around too long in an attempt to not rock the boat; he also hoped she would not stupidly put herself at risk over her foolish agreement with Asia.

It took him a long time but he eventually fell asleep. 


	12. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12_ **

Vegeta and Bulma got up early the next day. He helped her with Trunks in getting him ready for the day and spent some time with him while she packed everything up for him to spend the night at Bardock’s.

As he finished dressing him up and making sure his plasma pendant was armed and working, he looked at him carefully. He was getting big, he thought with regret that he was leaving tomorrow. He hoped that he would not be gone longer than seven or eight weeks at the most. Being that the travel time alone was three weeks each way, he would miss the next six weeks of his son’s development.

Vegeta hoped he wouldn’t miss too much but then a second thought occurred to him that maybe, just maybe Trunks would be walking by then. He knew the boy was able to stand a little; not quite on his own yet, but he was trying and if he had someone or something to hang on to for support, he could, in a wobbly way, stand for a moment before falling back on his bum. He was trying at least, and the determined look on his face when he would try again after falling instead of bawling told Vegeta that it wouldn’t be long before he was standing and walking on his own.

He hoped that if Trunks was able to walk by the time he got back then maybe he could start light training with him. He smirked at the possibility, he was really looking forward to that, he was looking forward to it much more than he would let anyone, Bulma included, know he was.

Vegeta sat on their bed with Trunks between his legs as he made the smallest white ki ball and held it out to Trunks who cooed in delight. He seemed to love it when his father let him play with ki. “I expect you to behave for your mother while I am gone, boy.” he said quietly, helping him manipulate the small ball of ki in his hands. “I am well aware that I have been neglectful as of late; while it has been necessary due to the circumstances at hand, I am sorry for that. When I return, hopefully you will have grown some and will be stronger and I can give you my undivided attention so we can begin training.”

Trunks happened to look wide-eyed at him just then and if Vegeta didn’t know any better he would have thought the infant had understood that he had said to him, being that he was giving him a look as if he was saying _‘Really?’_ in an excited tone that a child gets when a parent promises something amazing. “Really, really,” he replied almost absent mindedly and nodded.

“You talking to Trunks?” Bulma asked, walking back into their bedroom with a look of amusement.

“Hmmn,” Vegeta grunted, looking up at her briefly and then giving his attention back to Trunks and the ball of ki.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“That is not your business,” he huffed jokingly. “I expect him to behave for you while I am away and when I return, perhaps I will be able to begin training him a little.”

“Oh, I see,” she smiled at them. They looked so cute together like that. It wasn’t often that Vegeta sat at ease with Trunks like that and she was glad he had taken a few moments to do so. She wished so badly that she had a camera to have taken a picture of them together like this, though she also knew that Vegeta would more than likely have not allowed it. She still wished she could have in any case.

 “I’m about ready to go, but if you want to stay here a little longer with him, we can.” she said, putting the capsule with Trunks’ things in her pocket. “Today is your day, we can do whatever you want.”

“Do not make this into an unbearable emotional day,” he warned her with a stern look. “That is all I want.”

“Fair enough,” she smiled. “Just don’t turn into that distant, indifferent person I’ve been living with these past few weeks.”

Vegeta smirked at her, knowing she was only teasing him. He had told himself he would make it up to her before he left and it was in his every plan to do just that. She did not know it yet, but a few days ago he had taken a quick trip to his island.

The locals had still kept with their agreement and had kept it up nicely for him in his absence. Truthfully he had expected it to be dilapidated from neglect being that he had been gone so long. However it looked as good as it always did.

He had tracked them down and asked them to ready it for them. They had been more than delighted, especially since he had paid them double what he usually did. He had asked that they make it a nice atmosphere for his mate and to have an abundance of food prepared and stored for them. They had seemed very excited to take on the job and he left it in their capable hands. He wasn’t any good at things of that nature anyway, however that did not mean he didn’t mind taking full credit for it.

Vegeta was looking forward to her reaction at going back to the place that they had only been once before, but held so much meaning for them both. He hoped she would be happy and the two of them could spend the time relaxing most of the day and night before he had to leave. He knew it was a break they both desperately needed.

“There is one or two things that I need to see to,” he said to her finally, letting the ki ball dissolve. “It has nothing to do with training and nothing to do with my father or council members,” he said quickly as she shot him a disappointed look.

“You said you were taking the day off,” she objected.

“And I have,” he replied. “What I need to do will not take long. Go to Bardock’s place and drop off Trunks. When you are done and heading back here, let me know and I will come to get you.”

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to Kakarott?” she asked with a confused frown.

Vegeta smirked. “That will not be necessary.”

“He’s like your best friend, though!” Bulma objected. “Not to mention he’s staying here to babysit me instead of coming with you. I feel bad, Vegeta. I know how much he really wanted to go with you. I don’t get it, but I know you two. I feel like a burden. The least you could do would be to thank him before you leave and say goodbye.”

“Firstly, we are warriors, not women,” he said. “Secondly, Kakarott is my First Lieutenant; he does as I ask, when I ask. Besides, he isn’t as put out as you would think.”

“Whatever,” she sighed, assuming he meant that the other Saiyan was more than happy to stay behind being that his mate was pregnant again; Bulma thought that was nice. “I’ll head out now and I won’t stay long.”

“Be sure that you don’t,” he said sensually, reaching for her hand and pulling her towards him. “I have plans for you.”

She felt her face flush and her stomach leap at his words. “Well you make sure you don’t take long with your stuff either then.”

“I won’t,” he shook his head as he handed Trunks to her.

Vegeta felt a pang of guilt as Trunks began to wail as soon as Bulma had him.

“It’s okay, Trunks,” she said soothingly to him, bouncing him in her arms. “Daddy will be back soon, you’ll see.”

Vegeta couldn’t help but grimace at the term _daddy_ ; he hated when she referred to him like that and hoped the infant would not choose that term to address him when he was old enough to speak. “Enough,” he said soothingly to the crying baby, caressing the side of his face tenderly; seeing his son cry was almost as unbearable as seeing his mother cry. “You are the heir of the strongest warrior the galaxy has ever known and you were born to the strongest race in the universe, dating back thousands of years; you cannot behave and carry on in such a manner.”

Bulma refrained from rolling her eyes at him; already here he was teaching his son to have a superiority complex. She frowned lightly as she watched him at how much like his own father he looked and sounded like at the moment. Was it this kind of stuff his father had said to him as an infant that contributed to him being as hard as he was now, so ashamed at showing any type of emotion other than anger? She was going to say something but then decided it was best not to. For one, Trunks was quieting to his father’s calm, quiet words. Secondly, he was leaving tomorrow, why pick a fight with him over something that did not matter right now anyway? Trunks had no comprehension skills at the moment so it wasn’t like it would be detrimental to be told these things just yet.

“That’s it,” Vegeta smirked at Trunks as he calmed down. “Make your father proud; no more fussing and carrying on.”

Trunks looked at him, still teary-eyed and his bottom lip quivering; but he was quiet. “Do not coddle and cater to him while I am away,” he said, raising an eyebrow when she was going to object that she doesn’t. “I expect him to behave and conduct himself like a proper Saiyan heir worthy of my name, not some simpering brat.”

“I agree, but he’s still just a baby, Vegeta. That’s what babies do.” She objected.

“Understood, but I did not fuss all over him just now and look how he settled down.” he said. “If you fuss over him, all you are doing is encouraging these needless emotional outbursts.”

“Alright, Vegeta.” she sighed. “Point taken, I won’t coddle him while you’re gone, alright?”

He smirked at her, fully knowing that she would do just that and he would most likely come back to a spoilt monster child. No matter, he would deal and remedy that when the time was right. He was after all her child too, he reasoned and he knew she was having a difficult time with all of this. He was thankful that she was trying her best to put on a brave front for him before he left.

“Get to Bardocks and let me know when you are finished there.” he said, though he still had a hand on Trunks and was looking at him closely.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” she asked, sensing his hesitancy at her leaving with Trunks. “Or we can keep him with us for today if you want, I don’t have to drop him off. Chi-Chi just thought we’d want to have a distraction-free evening together that’s all.”

Vegeta continued to look at his son, the thought that he would be leaving here in a little less than twenty four hours hitting him harder than he thought it would. Why was this so hard all of a sudden, he wondered. He had been anticipating this for weeks now but now that it was almost here, he was having second thoughts.

He shook it off and pulled himself together; they would be fine, he told himself. Bulma had everything she needed to be able to leave if she needed to and she was protected by those he trusted the most. There was no reason why they would not be alright while he was gone.

“I am sure,” he said shaking his head. “Let me know when you are ready.” He walked away from them both before he let his emotions take a hold of him.

“Alright,” she nodded. “See you soon and make sure you leave Aro enough food and water for while we’re gone.”

“Hmmn,” he grunted, looking around for the shepherd, who was for once nowhere in sight.

Vegeta stood in their bedroom alone until he heard the door close softly behind her before he ventured out, his mind going through all of his preparation plans for this; he hoped everything went well, he thought as he swallowed a feeling of anxiety. How could it not go well? He was stronger than ever and his men were looking good, he had chosen his absolute best. There was no way they could lose this!

Cold was a fool who was nowhere near as strong as his son had been and he was not known for having the best tactical strategies. Cold always solely relied on having a high number of soldiers on his side, but just because he had more, did not mean that he had the advantage.

Vegeta found Aro napping on the balcony in the sun and decided that he would be fine out there. He moved his crate out on to the balcony and placed it where there was shade and cover but left it open for him before placing his entire bucket of food and two large bowls of water next to it. He knew Bulma would have fit when she saw how much food he’d left available to the dog, but he did not know how much to leave him; therefore he left him everything.

He knelt down next to the dog, petting him soothingly. “Look after my woman and child,” he said quietly, glad that no one was around. He didn’t talk to Aro often, but whenever he did he felt silly.

Aro sat up and licked his face, at which he turned his head away and winced in disgust. “I will be back soon. Until then, you are in charge.” He patted the dog a few more times and got up to leave.

Vegeta closed the balcony door, just in case the palace maids showed up to clean their quarters while Bulma was gone; he did not want them to be frightened by Aro. He left a note on the table to leave the balcony doors closed because Aro was out there and he left to run his few errands.

-0-0-0-

It hadn’t taken Bulma very long to make it to Bardock’s place. It was still early enough that there weren’t many people up and about in the market yet and so she wasn’t stopped very much. In a way, she was looking forward to Vegeta being gone for that reason. Usually when she went to visit Chi-Chi she was in a hurry to get there and get back to the palace. With no one to come back to, she could take her time and converse with people on her way back.

Even though it had been a few weeks, she was still amazed by how friendly and accepting people were of her. She wasn’t afraid in the least at going off on her own and she was glad for that. At least she wouldn’t be confined to just the palace while Vegeta was gone and maybe she could make some friends.

Bulma gave Penelope a quick hug when she saw her, taking the other Saiyan woman by surprise.

“He should be alright,” she said, handing Trunks to her. “He’s been fed and changed before I left. He was a little bit upset this morning when Vegeta gave him to me and so he’s been a bit fussier than usual but other than that should be alright.”

Penelope nodded. “He probably senses your and Vegeta’s anxiety is all.”

“You think?”

“Of course!” she exclaimed. “Saiyan infants are very in tuned to their parents. It is not unlike a bond shared between mates. However, as they mature and grow and become more independent, that bond lessens and lessens to become nearly nonexistent by the time they are around four or five years of age.”

“Huh,” Bulma grunted. “I did not know that.”

“Not to worry, my dear.” Penelope smiled. “He does not understand what is going on, however he can pick up on emotions and such.”

“That makes a lot of sense, actually,” she said. “He was so upset when Vegeta handed him over to me but when Vegeta started talking to him, he settled right down.”

“You can do the same,” Penelope advised. “Think on it and reach out the same as you do with your mate. It isn’t as strong, but if you look for it, it will be there and it will help. If you are upset and anxious, so will he.”

“I wish I knew that sooner,” she sighed. “Thanks though; better late than never, right? Where’s Chi-Chi?”

“She is outside in the back with Goten,” Penelope said.

“I’m just going to go say hi to her quickly before I leave.”

“She’s right out there and I fear she will need your support and council right about now.”

“Why?” Bulma asked with a frown. “Is everything alright?”

Penelope nodded and smiled politely. “It is, but she is having difficulty understanding certain things. You, going through the exact same thing as you are with your mate leaving will be able to relate. I did not realize the full extent of how different our cultures were until she came to live with us.”

“Uh ohh,” Bulma mumbled.

“Oh no, it is fine,” Penelope said quickly. “I mean no ill words with regards to your friend; she is a very sweet girl and she loves my son dearly.”

“Yea, she does,”

“Go and speak with her yourself,” she urged. “She will need you now because I cannot relate.”

“Alright, thanks for the heads up,” Bulma chuckled. “I know how she can be when she’s upset.”

Bulma quickly made it through the small house and out into the spacious back yard. It really was beautiful out there. Much nicer than the palace in some ways.

“Hey you,” she greeted her friend who was sitting outside watching Goten play. He was already able to stand and was taking small steps away from her towards a garden.

“Hey,” Chi-chi greeted sourly.

Bulma winced, at her response. Happier than ever that Penelope had given her the heads up, however she wished she had asked the specifics on _why_ her friend was upset. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, wanting to get to the point seeing as she had to meet Vegeta soon.

“Everything,” her friend sighed.

“How could everything be wrong when yesterday everything was perfect?” she reminded her. “Is the baby okay?”

“How quickly things change,” she scoffed. “The baby is fine; it’s Kakarott I’m not happy with at the moment.”

"Oh yea, where is he?" she asked, now realizing that he wasn’t around.

"Training. You haven't heard?"

"No, what?"

"He's decided that he's leaving with Vegeta," she said in a snippy tone. "Now of all times! I'm finally settled in here and things were going really well for us. I'm pregnant with our second child and he just decided last night that he can't stay behind, he has to go and fight this war with _your_ mate."

"Oh," was all she said, feeling really bad for her friend. However after Penelope’s comments and Vegeta’s reaction to her asking why he wasn’t going to say goodbye now all made perfect sense and she wondered why Vegeta hadn’t told her about this. "I kinda don't blame you for being pissed."

"Oh, I'm a little beyond pissed, Bulma," she seethed. "And his parents, god knows I love them, they're wonderful, but they don't get my side at all!"

"And they won't, Chi." She said, shaking her head at her friend and taking a seat next to her. "They're a warrior race. They're probably thrilled he's going and not babysitting me."

"That’s about it," she snorted. "Though they didn't put it that way. They know how seriously Vegeta takes your safety and they did question him about that end but he’s determined to go."

"I know it's hard, but remember that we are the outsiders here. We have to bend to their rules and cultural beliefs. At least you're with in laws that adore you. I'm at the palace on my own and have to worry about his father not plotting against me. You're situation isn't that bad."

"I'm pregnant, Bulma!" she cried. "What am I going to do?"

"You’ll be fine. Penelope is a midwife and I'll be here with you. You did just fine on Callisto. You’re even better off here."

"What if something happens to him though? Then what? I'll be a single mother of two on an alien planet!" She cried.

"I know, Chi. I know. I worry too. Vegeta seems pretty confident. And I know he trusts Kakarott with his own life. Those two together have seen a lot of battles. They've never lost. I know you won't like to hear this, but it makes me feel a little bit better knowing they have each other."

"Wonderful," she huffed. 

"We're both in the same boat, kinda. We'll stick together like always and hopefully everything will be back to normal within a few months." Bulma said cheerfully. "I'll head back though with Trunks."

"Why? I thought you were leaving him with us?"

"I was, but that was before I knew Kakarott was leaving too. I’m sure you guys want an evening together before he leaves."

"Nope. I told him this morning that if he walked out that door to train to not bother coming back until he returned from battle."

"Really, Chi?" She asked her friend in disbelief. 

"Really." She confirmed with a stern nod and her arms crossed stubbornly.

“Are you sure you really want to do that?”

“Why not? He cares more for going to war with Vegeta than his own wife and child, then whatever.”

“Alright, but what was all that talk you gave me yesterday about not letting Vegeta leave me on bad terms?” Bulma reminded her.

“And _did_ you make up with him?” she asked in an argumentative tone.

“Kind of,” she nodded, not wanting to tell her friend all of what had happened. She was sure that things were okay between her and Vegeta now, but she was still very embarrassed by herself. She was thankful that he had come back to her last night and they had spoken somewhat. She only hoped that tonight, with or without Trunks, they could get it together without fighting or hurting each other anymore. “Look, I know how hard it is, I’m going through the same thing. Just don’t do anything that you may regret if on the off chance something bad does happen, Chi. Vegeta and I have had our issues and differences as of late and in my frustration I went out to hurt him because he was hurting me. Everything is okay now; but for a moment, it really wasn’t and trust me, the feeling we both felt: the hurt and resentment, it wasn’t worth it.”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “I’m so mad at him though.”

“And I get that, I do,” Bulma said. “But they are how they are and there’s no sense being angry about it. I’m terrified for Vegeta to leave but he’s still leaving. I’m just trying to grin and bear it for now and I’ll probably break down and bawl my eyes out tomorrow once he’s gone. Feel free to join me, we can have a pity party together if you want.”

Her friend chuckled lightly. “You’re right,”

“I know I’m right.” She nodded.

“I’ll talk to him,” she sighed. “Leave Trunks here, it’s not a worry and I’ll take your advice and try to make things right with Kakarott before he leaves. I said some pretty nasty things to him that I probably shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sure you did,” she laughed.

“Thanks!” she objected, slapping her friend on the shoulder.

“What? I know how you can be!”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “Well you and Vegeta make sure to have a nice day together and I’ll make sure I mend things with Kakarott before they leave. There, happy now?”

“I am,” Bulma nodded, reaching over to give her friend a hug. “I’ll come hang out tomorrow when I come to get Trunks. We can wallow together.”

“Sounds like a plan,” her friend agreed, hugging her back.

Bulma quickly said her goodbyes to Trunks and Penelope before heading outside and back towards the palace. **_I’m on my way back now._**

**_Hmmn, I am already on my way out._** He replied in an amused tone.

She casually walked back into the capital of the city and looked at a few of the different vendors as she waited for Vegeta.

“Ready?” a voice from behind her asked.

Bulma smiled as she turned around to face him. “You didn’t tell me that Kakarott was coming along with you.”

“I did not,” he confirmed.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “It never came up.”

“Uh huh, is that why you didn’t want to come with me to drop Trunks off?” she asked suspiciously. “Because you were afraid Chi-Chi would rip you a new one?”

“I do not fear that harpy,” he scoffed. “I simply did not feel like dealing with her incessant bitching. I have no idea how Kakarott could be mated to such a woman, much less father a second brat with her. It is a small wonder he wanted to leave with me.”

“Hey, don’t be mean, Vegeta!” Bulma scolded him.

“Enough about them,” he sighed, leaning down to pick her up bridal style once he was sure no one was watching them. “The reminder of the day is about _us_.”

She blushed as she made herself comfortable in his arms; she loved flying with him. “Where are you taking us?”

“You shall soon find out,” he said elusively as they took off into the sky.

About a half hour later they reached their destination and Vegeta landed softly on the sand, placing Bulma down carefully beside him.

Bulma swallowed a wave of emotion as it dawned on her that it was here that they had exchanged their vows and rings and that it was here that they had consummated their union. It felt like an eternity ago now, when really it had only been about two years she estimated. She thought back on it and how much they had grown since then. They had been foolish in making such a rash and impulsive decision like they had, but they had come through all of it. The last time she was here they were preparing to sneak off planet someplace safe to think up a plan; now here they were, they had a son and now they were preparing face something possibly worse.

"Thanks for bringing me here again," she said to him with a smile. 

Bulma leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck as he crashed his lips against hers. This may very well be the last time they would be together for a while, she thought sadly. She hoped he would not be gone long and hoped that he would be alright and that nothing would happen to her or Trunks in his absence. She knew that his father had given his word that both she and Trunks would be safe, but she still did not want to count on that. Her gut was telling her to not trust him.

**_Forget everything,_** he said to her, picking up on her thoughts which were both rational and irrational, spiraling out of control.

**_I can’t,_** she confessed. **_I am so afraid._** She said as she stepped away from him and took his hand. They started to walk down the length of the beach together in silence.  

**_Do not be. I will return within a few short weeks._** He replied, reassuringly as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind; his lips moving up her jawline to her left ear. “I will be back before you even have a chance to miss me.” he whispered into her ear.

**_I know, but I still have such a bad feeling, Vegeta._ **

**_You are over thinking it, as usual. I will be gone, but I will still be with you. Whatever happens, I will be with you. The moment you feel something is wrong, you are to take you and the boy and get out._ **

**_I know._ **

Instead of sitting back and enjoying the quiet tranquility and scenery of the weaves and beautiful paradisiac weather, they both removed their clothes hurriedly as they made their way towards the small house and upstairs; heatedly kissing and touching each other urgently as they made it to their destination. Vegeta led her to bed and pulled her down towards him and simply held her close. In that moment, despite their aroused state, all their troubles seemed to occupy their minds again and their need for one another was set aside.

Even though Vegeta was sure he would be successful in his campaign, he felt the slight wave of anxiety touch him. _What if Bulma’s fears came true_? His mind whispered to him. Would this be the last time they would be together? _No_ , he told himself. _It wouldn't_ ; he would do everything in his power to make it back to her and his son if it was the last thing he ever did.

“Are you afraid?” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder and nestling her nose in the crook of his neck. She knew he was anxious and that he was trying to shield her from it to make this easier on her but it only made her feel worse.

“I am _never_ afraid, Woman,” he growled roughly, silently berating himself for not being more careful about keeping his thoughts to himself. He knew she was a wreck over this and all the unknown factors about to come upon them, the last thing he wanted was for her to worry herself silly even more. The whole point of this evening was to forget everything else for the moment and so far they both were doing a horrible job of that.

She smiled against his collarbone, knowing he was lying in an effort to ease her mind and began to trail her fingers absent mindedly across his chest and abdomen. “That’s right, what was I thinking? I should know better than to ask,” she snickered, brushing the side of his neck lightly with her lips.

“Being that as it may,” he started in a deep, serious tone that made her belly flip and grow warm with desire for him as his free hand caught her chin, gently tipping her face upwards so he could look her in the eye. “I am never afraid, and neither should you.” he whispered again to her softly, cupping the side of her face tenderly and looking so intensely at her that she actually believed him in that moment as her body shook in raw emotion she was trying to hold back and in her anticipation of needing him.

She reached her hand up, caressing the side of his face, the same as he was doing to her and pulled herself up to him, kissing him softly. “Vegeta,” she sighed against his mouth as he kissed her back slowly at first, not wanting to rush what little precious time they had together before they had to go their own separate ways tomorrow morning for who knew how long. Bulma wrapped both her arms around him as their kiss gradually deepened in growing need and intensity, and pulled him down on top of her; their lips never leaving each other.

“Hmmn,” he grunted, bringing a thigh up between her legs, parting them as he brought his hand down to stroke her most sacred place and slowly trailing his mouth up along her jaw line and down her neck.

“I want you,” she sighed, wanting to skip the foreplay.

“I _need_ you,” he replied in a husked tone; the tip of his erection, just grazing her slick entrance, tempting him to proceed regardless of wanting to draw this out for as long as he could.  

“Now,” she demanded as she hitched one of her legs around his narrow waist, drawing him completely into her. They both moaned loudly at the contact.

He pulled out of her slowly, ready to dive back into her, which he did after grabbing her hands, effectively pinning both her hands above her head with one of his hands.

“You…” he hissed as he grabbed her leg that was around his waist and managed to bring it up into the crook of his elbow and lodged himself as deeply into her as he could so that she could not torment him further with her complete and utter silliness from last night if she wanted.  “Are the worst kind,”

“Worst kind of what?” she cried out as he surged himself deeper yet into her now that her leg was up, not objecting to this form of pay back from him. After what she had done to him last night, she deserved whatever she got from him.

“You are the worst kind of extortionist,” he snarled, burying his face into her neck. “I have ever encountered.”

She giggled at him, neither admitting it nor denying it as she lost all coherent thought; glad that he wasn’t still angry with her for being stupid yesterday. She would make sure to never do such a thing to him again.

They made love slowly, savoring every single moment; basking in each other’s pleasure and then simply held each other close all afternoon. They touched and stroked and indulged in kisses when the deafening silence became too much to bear and eventually it lead them both into another passionate round.

**_I love you,_** he said to her as his climax hit him. There. He’d said it; even though he still thought it was beyond ridiculous to even need to say such a thing to her and he did not understand her need to hear it, he said it then none the less. “I love you.” He said again, out loud this time and meant it. He _did_ love her, more than he liked to admit.

Bulma smiled against his mouth as she kissed him back slowly, savoring every moment. She knew he loved her with every fiber of his being and that she had been wrong to attempt to force it out of him, but that he did tell her now when she really needed it, _especially_ after last night, made her love him even more. **_I know,_** she replied playfully. That was what he usually said to her when she told him she loved him. “I love you.”

“Hmmmn,” he grunted as he rocked his hips slowly into her, trying to prolong his release, which brought her to her peak as well.

**_Was that so hard?_** She asked innocently once her euphoric state began to settle.

After a long time of silence, Bulma turned herself in his arms to look at him. It was starting to get dark now, but the light shining into the room from the setting sun let in enough light that she could still see him somewhat clearly. She opened her mouth twice, wanting to say something to him, but the words wouldn’t come to her.

“You do not need to say anything,” he said to her. “I already know.”

“I know,” she nodded, still looking at him. “I just was so afraid we would leave each other tomorrow on bad terms. I don’t want that.”

“We are not on bad terms,” he confirmed. “If we are, part of that is my own doing; you are not solely to blame.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, wrapping her arm around his torso and squeezing him. “I never meant-”

“Forget it.” He curtly interrupted her. “I do not wish to spend my remaining hours with you rehashing mistakes we have both made and discussing the sordid details of my past.”

“Alright,” she agreed as he pulled her up into his lap and kissed her deeply. He wanted her again and she was more than happy to oblige.

They got up early the next day, neither of them having barely slept all night; and had a light breakfast of assorted fruit, nuts and sweetened breakfast breads. Bulma showered with Vegeta, washing him thoroughly before helping him dress into his armor. She had remembered once someone telling her that it was tradition for a spouse to dress her mate for battle. She couldn't remember if someone here had told her that or if it was some ancient cultural tradition she'd learned of in school while studying about Samurais or Vikings. Nonetheless, she decided to help him dress and took great care making sure his armor fit properly and that he looked the part of a regal warrior Prince. 

Bulma smiled as she noticed him quickly tuck the black onyx ring and silver chain securely under his black flight suit. He never took it off, ever and he always wore it hidden beneath his flight suit at all times. Despite it never making an appearance to anyone besides herself, it still made her feel good that he kept it on him always, just like she always wore her ring on her finger.

She took a step back and looked at him. "You look exceptionally handsome." She said with and smile, trying to not let her worries take over and burden him. It was much easier said than done. 

"Hmm," he grunted. 

"Can I at least see you off?" She asked, swallowing a lump in her throat. She'd known this moment was coming. Why was it so hard now? 

"If you think you can contain yourself in front of everyone, absolutely." He nodded. 

They finished getting ready and took off towards the palace together, ready to face the day.

When they landed, they were surprisingly amongst the first ones there. A few of the soldiers were standing around waiting for the ship to finally be ready and within the hour it was and everyone that was supposed to be leaving was there and ready to go.

Kakarott nodded at Bulma and gave her one of his trademark childish smiles. “Hey, sorry I opted to go with Vegeta so last minute, I just didn’t feel right letting Vegeta go on his own for this one.” he said quietly to her.

“That’s alright,” she smiled. “Don’t tell Chi-Chi I said so, but I feel a little bit better knowing you both are going together.”

“Yea, Chi-Chi’s not too happy with me right now,” he sighed, a sad frown clouding over his usual care-free features. “You’ll watch her for me while I’m gone, right?”

“Of course I will!” Bulma snorted. “What kind of a silly request is that?”

“Oh, I know,” he chuckled. “I just wanted to say it anyway.”

“I will.” she agreed. “And don’t worry, she’ll get over you leaving. She loves you; that’s why she’s so upset.”

“I know,” he nodded. “Thanks Bulma. You take care of yourself and Trunks. If you need to leave, then leave. Don’t worry about bringing Chi-Chi. She’ll be mad, but she’s fine here; you don’t have to worry about her.”

“I’m hoping I won’t have to leave, but I understand.” She smiled. “Take care, you; and congratulations.”

“Gee, thanks!” he beamed.

Bulma smiled at him, glad he had his usual happy demeanor back. She watched as he boarded the ship, along with his brother who seemed to be razing him about something.

Everyone was boarded on the ship with the exception of Vegeta and Asia.

King Vegeta nodded at his son and placed at hand on his shoulder firmly. "Come back victorious or not at all." He said. 

Bulma had to refrain from letting out a disgusted snort. Was that his version of a pep talk?

"I do not intend to lose," Vegeta nodded to his father then shifted his glance at Bulma. "Remember, I am leaving two very valuable commodities here; see to it they are unharmed or I will hold you and your entire cabinet of advisors all personally responsible."

"They will be kept safe during the duration of your absence, my son. You have my word."

**_Remember, the first hint of trouble and you and the boy are to leave. Do not wait for it to get better do not second guess your judgment. I would rather you leave on false suspicions than have you stay and regret it._ **

**_I know. I will,_** she replied, standing tall, trying to put on a brave face even though her stomach was in knots. **_Take care of yourself and come back to us soon. I love you._**

**_I know,_** Vegeta nodded at her once, the corner of his lip turning up ever so slightly in a half smirk for just the briefest second before he turned to board the ship. **_Me too._**

Once Vegeta was gone, Asia approached Bulma. "I just fed him and he should sleep for a while; he is in the nursery and I let the maid know that you will be caring for him in my place. No one will give you any trouble.”

"Alright. Thanks," Bulma smiled. "Look after yourself out there, alright?" She said awkwardly.

Asia gave her a funny last look; she sure hoped she was making the right decision where he was concerned. "Don't worry, I will look after him like he is my own." Bulma said quietly, sensing the other woman's anxiety. 

She nodded and gave Bulma kind of a half-smile before walking up to King Vegeta. "Fight well." Was all he said to her and she boarded the ship. 

It was a somewhat awkward scene, Bulma thought to herself, feeling pity for the other girl. 

Within a few minutes they were gone. Bulma, not knowing what else to do, made a fairly hasty retreat back to hers and Vegeta’s quarters. She didn’t realize how truly exhausted she was until Vegeta and everyone else left and she was standing on the launch deck watching the ship disappear.

Bulma let Aro in from the balcony before changing her clothes into a light pair of pajamas and crawled into bed for a much needed nap before leaving to pick up Trunks.  Aro leapt onto the bed, settling himself in next to her as always when Vegeta was absent.

She lay there by herself and as the minutes ticked by and the silence lulled her into relaxation it was then that she finally cried; letting loose of everything she had contained these past several weeks since they had arrived there.

She reached out for Aro and hugged him close as she purged every bit of pent up emotion she had; fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, exhaustion- everything until she eventually cried herself to sleep.

-0-0-0-

Paragus settled himself in his office as his son closed the door behind him. "I have a job for you."

"What's that?" Brolly asked. He was beginning to become bored here. He had left his grandmother and everything he loved to come here to be a warrior. So far he had done nothing. "I was supposed to be leaving with everyone else and now I'm not. I wasn't even considered a possible candidate."

"That is how fickle our Prince is." Paragus nodded. "I need you to keep tabs on that lovely mate of his while he is away."

"Bulma? Why?" Brolly asked with a frown. 

"She has caused nothing but uproar and trouble for everyone," he replied. "Most importantly, the king and cabinet members do not trust her."

Brolly did not say anything. He didn't know Bulma really, but she seemed like a nice harmless girl. 

"I need you to keep track of her every move. It has not escaped my notice that she seems to like you, therefore she will not suspect anything if you were to accompany her during her days here.”

“I don’t understand,” he shook his head. “From what I can tell she just wants to lead a quiet life here with her son.”

"That is what she wants everyone to think but we suspect she will begin rallying some of the pathetic third class people and any half breed mongrels to her side while Vegeta is gone. This would be very bad. It could cause a civil war. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Brolly nodded, though didn't think Bulma was the type to do such a thing. 

"You are to report on everything and anything that you come across whether you think it suspicious or not." Paragus said. "Am I clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Do this and you will be rewarded accordingly. You are dismissed."

Brolly left, feeling more confused than ever. He liked Bulma, she was the only one who seemed to notice him and not treat him as an outcast around here. Therefore he didn't mind it if he had to spend time with her but he didn't want to spy on her. 

He absolutely hated it here where everything was so complicated and nothing was as it seemed. Everyone had an agenda or a secret that needed to be kept. You didn't know who was your friend or who could be trusted. He wasn't even sure about his uncle. Some things about him did not make sense and did not add up. 

He always felt he had an unnecessary, overly controlling interest in him while growing up. 

Brolly had been raised by his grandmother. Both of his parents having been deceased when he was very young. Paragus was his uncle on his father's side and took it upon himself to look in on Brolly. His grandmother always raved at how wonderful Paragus was for taking a personal interest in Brolly but for some reason it had never sat well with him; even as a boy.

Paragus would show up once every three or four months and have private discussions with his grandmother and brought gifts for him. Always golden bracelets, Head bands or choker necklaces with expensive jewels and intricate designs. He never much cared for them but wore them because his grandmother insisted that to not would be a grave insult to his uncle and everything he had ever done for him. 

So to appease his grandmother, he wore the gifts grudgingly.

Apparently he was the son of a traitor to the throne of Vegeta-sei. The King had learned of a plot to destroy him and so had ordered the entire family to be slain. Brolly had only been a few days old when his father's disloyalty had been discovered and Paragus had acted quickly and had taken him to his grandmother’s place to be raised. 

He had been raised by her on a quiet continent that was home to only a couple hundred Saiyans. All were agricultural, none were warriors.  He helped this grandmother farm their land during the day and in the evenings she tutored and schooled him on everything. The history of the Saiyan race, the way they all lived oppressively under King Vegeta the tyrant. How he murdered his own subjects at the first suspicion of anarchy, treason or disloyalty.

His life had been rather peaceful and he liked it up until a few months ago when Paragus had shown up and requested that he move to the capital and become a soldier. That there was a war brewing and he felt that the time was right to serve their Prince in battle, despite having no real training and no battle experience. 

While Brolly hadn’t been the least bit interested, his grandma had talked him into it insisting that it was a great honor to join Vegeta-sei’s military. Once again, it was drilled into him how much his uncle had done for him over the years and to not accept any type of position at the palace at his uncle’s request would be a deep insult.

Now here he was. Bored out of his mind with no comrades and no job but for the menial tasks his uncle sent him on. He had begun to train, however he found it to be very clicky amongst the soldiers. They had all known each other since childhood so they were not overly accepting of any newcomers entering their fold.

Brolly had hoped to apply himself in his training and impress the Prince enough that maybe he would take a personal interest in him and accelerate his training since he was still learning the basics. How wrong both he and his uncle had been.

Prince Vegeta was a perfectionist to the point where it was nearly a character flaw. If you could not keep up then you were not welcome. Brolly had reasoned that because of the upcoming war, the pressure was really on for them to be ready and so he did not have much time to give to the less experienced warriors.

Brolly worked very hard but apparently not hard enough. He had barely caught Vegeta’s attention in the last few weeks he had been training. Only once had the prince spoken with him; they had both been the only two remaining soldiers at the training center. Vegeta had shown him how to use the gravity simulator and they had spent about an hour doing drills, getting Brolly used to the increased gravity, which hadn’t been too difficult for him to master.

Impressed, Vegeta had increased the gravity a little more and they had a brief sparring session in which Brolly had learned much. The prince had given him constructive criticism on how to improve his form and techniques as no one had formally taught him anything. He had been elated that Vegeta had even spared a moment of his time to teach him anything and in this new found admiration for the prince had hoped that he would be among the ones selected to fight alongside him.

Sure he knew he wasn’t ready for battle, but he had been let down nonetheless and the closer the day of departure came, the more grueling the training sessions became and the more demanding of his soldiers Prince Vegeta became.

Now that everyone was gone, Brolly was hoping to continue his own training with the remaining soldiers and perfect what Vegeta had shown him so that perhaps the next time there was a war, maybe he would be selected to fight as well.

As he walked down the halls aimlessly, he decided to head down the training center and experiment a little with the gravity simulator. How much pressure could he withstand? The rumors going around the barracks were that Prince Vegeta was able to train comfortably at 750 times planet Vegeta-sei’s gravity for extended long periods of time and that the simulator could put out as much as 1000 times gravity.

Brolly wasn’t sure what that meant, but now would be a good time to find out. Tomorrow he would give thought to his uncle’s strange request.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_ **

"Yes, he is on his way." King Vegeta said through the video monitor to the other king, moments after Vegeta’s ship departure from Vegeta-sei’s atmosphere. 

"Excellent." Cold replied.

"He has brought with him a handful of our very best soldiers. Are you sure you can handle that?"

"He can bring as many as he wants," Cold shrugged in a bored tone. "I am prepared; even if he does happen to outnumber me, which I highly doubt at this point, the caliber of soldiers I have at my disposal will still be too much for him and his army."

A wave of anxiety and fear ripped through King Vegeta at that news. How could Cold have possibly found warriors greater than the Saiyans to fight for him? There were no races greater than the Saiyans; not to his knowledge anyway. Sure they weren't the only race of hardcore warriors out there but they were without a doubt the strongest. Who could he have possibly found to fight for him and could they be bought to eventually hold a peace treaty with him as well? If it was true that they were as good as Cold was gloating about then as hard as it was, he was glad he had sent Vegeta off. It would pain him greatly once he was done away with but it was for the greater good. Sacrifice a few to save an entire planet and race.

That was what he kept telling himself. 

He knew he could not afford to fight a war with Cold even if he was bluffing about these so-called amazing warriors that were on a different league than the best the Saiyan race had to offer. They would lose, hands down. 

Cold sensed King Vegeta's thoughts. "So long as you uphold your end of the bargain in all of this, you and your empire are in no danger. Things will go back to the way they were before; the Saiyans and Ice-jin, allies in conquering the universe together. My son for your son to keep peace in the galaxy."

"I understand," he said. "Though I would like to renegotiate the terms with regards to the woman."

"That depends," Cold replied, cocking his head to the side with interest. "She and her son are to be turned over to me; that, I am afraid, is nonnegotiable."

King Vegeta gave him a harsh glare.

"Do not cross me or betray me, Vegeta,” he warned. “The loss of your son is more than a reasonable trade for what he did to my son. In the end this may be advantageous to both not only us but the entire galaxy as a whole. You and I both know full well that when we left them both our places they would have waged an all-out war against one another."

King Vegeta nodded in agreement. It was true; everyone knew they had hated each other. They would have been self-destructive and selfish enough to run both of their empires into the ground in an effort to bring the other down. Casualties and consequences of any negative impact to anyone or anything else would not even cross their minds most likely until one had defeated the other. Then where would everyone be? The entire galaxy would have become a war torn casualty mess, best case scenario. Yes, as hard as this was, it was the best thing. Sacrifice a few to save millions, possibly billions. He still didn't like it, but understood it 

"What is it you would like to renegotiate?" Cold asked with sudden interest.

"I need to prove a point to my son," he said. "You may have the girl to dispose of as you wish, that I will not go back on. However they share a bond; whatever she goes through so will he and vice versa.”

“You wish to see him suffer through her." Cold acknowledged.

"Yes."

"If it adds to his own distress then why not?" He shrugged in a nonchalant tone. "Was it not over her that this whole thing was started?"

"Yes."

"Then she's just as equally responsible for the death of Frieza," he reasoned in a dismissive tone. "What did you have in mind?"

"I haven't fully decided yet; I will not do anything however until you have Vegeta locked down and in your custody." King Vegeta said. "Then I will make my move. I will let you know when I have her and I will give you a detailed explanation as to what is going on; my expectation is that you will keep him well informed of whatever I bestow upon her. Then you may have her and that half breed mongrel of theirs. I do not care about what happens to him one way or another.

"Very well," Cold nodded. "I will not send my men to retrieve her until your son arrives here. That will allow you three weeks to inflict whatever misery you wish on the girl. Is that fair?"

"It is," the king nodded.

"Ensure that she is alive and well, Vegeta." he warned.

"I have no intention of killing her. That would make things far too simple," he said with an angry glower. “I advised her to leave and she did not so she shall reap the consequences.”

"Good. I will contact you once I have your son." Cold said and disconnected the call and turned towards one of his advisors, Seyton, a very small and frail member of the Ice-jin race. What he lacked in strength and size he more than made up for in cunning and strategy skills. "Wait two weeks from today before sending my men out to fetch Vegeta's family."

"You told King Vegeta three weeks I thought though." his advisor reminded him.

"I did, but I do not trust him to not go back on our arrangement. I need the girl here," Cold said. "One week of tormenting her will have to be enough for him."

"May I ask why?"

"I need her to be sound in mind and fully functional if she is to be of any use to me," Cold replied. "Not to mention she will be a valuable asset in breaking Vegeta."

"I understand my lord," Seyton bowed. "I will inform the men to hold off on their departure."

"Excellent," Cold nodded, pouring himself a glass of wine. Things were finally starting to come together. "One other thing, Seyton,"

"Yes, my Lord," he replied, turning back to his king

"Send Gero in when you have a moment." He said. "It is time to discuss specifics."

"I will make it a priority." Seyton said, bowing respectfully and dismissing himself and left his king to ponder thoughts of war and victory. If Gero was about to get involved, then things were about to get very interesting and very ugly for those on the wrong side.

It was he who had come to King Cold about a year ago and informed him of the truth about what had happened to his son, Frieza. No one knew how the man had found King Cold’s mobile base ship, but he had. He had come seeking employment in exchange for valuable information about what had really happened since no one knew what had become of Lord Frieza. He had simply disappeared and was never heard from again. As some of his soldiers under his employ turned up here and there and there had been several rumors and theories flying around, but nothing concrete and of course each story contradicted the other in some way. 

Then out of the blue, this Doctor Gero had shown up with a story of his own. A very different, but plausible story. At first everyone had been skeptical of the story but he had brought with him Lord Frieza’s severed head and scattered surveillance footage he had recovered of the battle between Frieza and Vegeta which fortunately included Vegeta’s finishing blow as proof to back up his story. He’d even had the coordinates of Frieza’s damaged ship.

After that, King Cold had taken this strange Doctor Gero into the fold, gave him a place to work and between the two concocted a scheme. Seyton didn’t know much of the details, as the grieving King wanted as few people to know the specifics about his son and about whatever grizzly plan they had concocted together. It was clear though, that Gero had a hate on for Prince Vegeta’s mate, Bulma. That bit was unclear to him but he supposed he would be finding out very soon. 

One thing was for certain, Seyton didn’t like or trust this Gero character. There was something not right, something unnatural about him. He gave him a wide berth and never have him reason to think anything ill of him; he did not want to find himself on the bad side of this man.

He was going to let Cold’s bounty hunters know that their trip would be delayed another two weeks but then decided to look for Gero first. The guys were getting antsy and would not be happy to know that it would be another two weeks spent on the ship with nothing to do.

Speaking with Gero was the better option of the two tasks he had been given. For now, anyway.

-0-0-0-

King Vegeta sat there a while on his own as he contemplated everything that had happened up to this point. 

Second thoughts creeping into his mind as to whether or not Cold could be trusted to not turn around and attack them once he had taken care of Vegeta and the small legion of Vegeta-sei's finest warriors. 

Vegeta had been shrewd in his selections and without them, the planet was for the most part defenseless against attack. Sure there were warriors left behind but they weren't the best. King Vegeta growled as he contemplated the position of vulnerability his planet was currently left in. He would make contact with several of the surrounding planets that were a part of the Saiyan Empire. Most of these small planets housed additional warriors and weapons. He needed them to be put on high alert. 

Just in case the Ice-jin king could not be trusted and just in case things didn't go according to plan.

-0-0-0-

It had been exactly one week since Vegeta had left Vegeta-sei with a handful of Saiyan soldiers. Despite wanting to do nothing more than mope though, Bulma managed to set herself up a daily routine that kept her very busy. Before she knew it, the first week had flown by much quicker than she thought it would and that went a long way to her keeping to her schedule. In truth she was so busy, she almost didn’t have the time to be missing Vegeta or be worrying about what may or may not happen.

She started her days off early, feeding and tending to Trunks before making her way down to where Asia kept Tarble. She would check in on him and feed him his formula; by that time, the nurse maid usually came back from her breakfast and her own morning routine and after Bulma established that she really was just a nice girl enthralled with babies and infants, she talked her into letting her leave Trunks with Tarble while she ran to Bardock’s lab for a few hours. It was an opportunity for the two boys to get to socialize and get used to one another and for her to get in a few hours of mature tech talk her brain so desperately craved.

Bardock would usually give her a few projects to work on in her down time as he needed to oversee other more urgent matters. She would either spend some time helping him finish off a few things here and there or would help him sift through the many things he had on his to do list and took some of the more mundane tasks to start on for him.

Her time in the lab with Bardock was her favorite time of the day and she felt guilt many times over at wishing she could just throw herself into all of the serious work. If she didn’t have Trunks and Tarble to look after, she would have done just that. So she spent a few hours there and took what she could back with her to keep her occupied in the evenings when she was confined by herself in hers and Vegeta’s quarters.

Vegeta’s absence during the day never bothered her all that much since he was usually off training or in meetings anyway. It was the nights that she found difficult to cope with. So she either studied or worked on her projects until she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

After she finished her work in the lab it was usually time for lunch. Bulma would usually grab something light from the kitchen and head back to Trunks and Tarble where she would spend the rest of her day with them.

She would either bring them back to her place for the afternoon where she would supervise them on the balcony or take them to the courtyard Vegeta had shown her before he’d left. It was a good opportunity for her to catch some sun and for Aro to get out as well. Bulma would set up a play pen for the boys to hang out, which to her surprise they didn’t mind or fuss at all; they usually fell asleep shortly after she’d arrived there.

Bulma took the opportunity to work with Aro and she enjoyed her time with him almost as much as she enjoyed her time with Bardock in the lab. The only thing she wished was that she had an extra person to help her with him; there was something new she wanted to teach him but she couldn’t without someone else. Being that it is never a good idea to work protection alone with your dog and an even worse idea to have your dog do bites on yourself, she hadn’t bothered with any protection work. Not that Aro seemed to mind, he was happy doing just about anything even if it was basic obedience drills. She could instantly tell that he was much happier now that she had been able to spend a few hours a day with him and it didn’t take long for his sharp, tailored responses to come back.

She was delighted that Tarble seemed to really like Aro as much as Trunks. The first day she had let Aro interact with him, he had been afraid of the Shepherd; but it seemed once he saw that the dog meant no harm to him and that Trunks was comfortable with him around, he decided he was alright after that.

After dinner she would keep the boys together a little longer before putting Tarble to bed early. Neesa was always around and spent the night in the nursery, much to Bulma’s relief. She wasn’t sure if she could handle two babies at night. Thankfully Trunks was pretty good at sleeping most of the night by this time but she didn’t know how Tarble was. If he wasn’t, she figured he would wake Trunks up with his fussing and then she would have two of them to settle back down. 

Once Trunks was down for the night, she would work for a little while and then indulge in a nice hot bath with a glass of wine or two. It was around that time she would usually seek Vegeta out through their bond, for fear of disturbing him.

He would seek her out in the mornings and sometimes throughout the day to find out how she was doing. They usually didn’t talk long but it was nice that they kept in touch somewhat at least.

Apparently, the gravity simulator on the ship was working very well and Vegeta, being the hard core drill Sargent that he was, insisted the ship operate under 300 times gravity everywhere at all times with the goal of increasing it every few days. The maximum pressure it could handle was up to 500 times but not all of the soldiers could function under that just yet. It was Vegeta’s intention that they could all handle the full capacity by the end of three weeks.

 ** _So if you’re used to 750 then this isn’t helping you all that much, is it?_** She said to him as she settled into her warm bath, glass of red wine in hand.

 ** _It is alright,_** he answered; she could tell he was exhausted. **_I need to find a way to ascend to the next level of Super Saiyan._**

**_And how are you going to do that?_ **

**_Believe it or not, Kakarott came up with the most genius idea,_** he said in a tone that implied he was somewhat annoyed by the fact that his first lieutenant may have had a better idea than him. **_I will maintain my Super Saiyan form at all times._**

**_Isn’t that exhausting?_ **

**_It is very,_** he confirmed. **_So I must learn to function with it as easily as I can function in my regular state. I must be a Super Saiyan twenty four hours a day. The amount of energy it takes for me to maintain it all day and night makes operating under 300 times normal gravity quite the challenge for me as well._**

 ** _I see,_** she said. **_So you walk around all day glowing like you do when in your ascended state?_**

 ** _Interesting. I guess if the lights quit working, then everyone can rely on you to help find their way around._** She joked.

 ** _Very funny,_** he growled.

**_I knew you’d like that. How’s Asia doing?_ **

**_She is fine. How are the brats?_ **

**_They’re really good! I got a stroller from Bardock just today so tomorrow I am going to take both Tarble and Trunks to visit Chi-Chi and Goten. I haven’t been to see her since I picked up Trunks after you left. I’ve just been too busy._ **

**_I see; and no one will question you taking him outside palace walls?_ **

**_I don’t think so, but I guess I’ll find out. So far no one cares where I take him. I’ve brought him to our quarters and to the courtyard. He’s with me almost all day except the mornings when I go to work at the lab for a few hours._ **

**_My father is still not giving you any issue?_ **

**_Nope. I haven’t even seen him._ **

**_Hmmmn,_ **

**_What?_ **

**_That may be a good thing or it could be a bad thing,_** he said thoughtfully.

 ** _Well let’s assume it’s a good thing, Vegeta._** She said. **_So far it’s been a week and things are going really well._**

 ** _I told you that you were worrying over nothing,_** he reminded her. **_That you would not have time to miss me._**

 ** _Who said anything about not missing you?_** She asked coyly.

**_Hmmn,_ **

**_Awe, do you miss me?_** She cooed.

 ** _Hmmn; well, things are relatively quiet around here,_** he sighed nonchalantly. **_No nagging or constant non-stop babble over things I have no interest in. No crying brats to tend to, no dog hair all over my clothing and I can train until I pass out._**

 ** _Alright, I get it._** She huffed. **_Though I am quite lonely right now. I’m in the bath with a glass of wine. I just finished washing my body. I was thinking about you as I did and imagined that it was your hands all over me, not my own and now I have this strange ache. It’s quite uncomfortable, you know._** She said trying to sound as innocent as possible.

**_Fuck off._ **

She snorted out loud, almost spitting out her wine at his response. **_I thought you didn’t miss me?_**

 ** _Alright, I do,_** he reluctantly admitted. **_I miss you very much; which is why I train past the point of exhaustion._**

 ** _I miss you too,_** she said. **_So what are you doing now?_** She asked, changing the subject.

**_Finishing off my work out._ **

**_That’s why you sound so tired. Why don’t you take a break and get some sleep? It’s late._ **

**_Sleep is a waste of time._ **

**_No it isn’t._** She objected. **_Sleep and rest is just as beneficial as training and eating._**

 ** _You sound like that clown Kakarott._** He deadpanned.

**_Maybe he’s a smart clown then. Ever consider that?_ **

**_Ever consider that maybe that is the reason why the clown is still a clown and not a Super Saiyan?_** He argued irritably.

**_I thought you were the only one genetically predisposed to be able to attain it or whatever?_ **

**_I am._ **

**_Then it wouldn’t matter, would it?_** She asked him lightly, more razing him out of boredom than anything else. She missed not having him around to tease in an effort to lighten him up when he was stressing himself out too much. Sure things had been much too stressful between them for her to have thought about anything witty at the time, she thought guiltily; but she wanted to try now to get him to unwind somewhat, take a step back and realize that he needed to rest just like everyone else.

**_No; he can never hope to attain what I have but that does not mean that there are no other levels of strength for him to yet achieve that he will never attain if he does not apply himself like he has not been since we left._ **

**_Okay, but maybe you need to consider a balance._** She suggested. **_I realize you want to be at your best once you get there, but you can’t be at your best if you’re dog exhausted as soon as you arrive. You are maintaining your Super Saiyan form all the time anyway, even when you sleep, right?_**

 ** _Then technically you’re still training while you are sleeping; ever consider that?_** She asked lightly.

**_No,_ **

**_Of course not._** She sighed. **_Get some rest, please. It will help me sleep knowing that you’re resting too. You’re overworking yourself, I know you are. Take a break, even if it’s for a few hours and then get back at it._**

He was quiet and didn’t reply to her for a long moment. **_Alright._** He said grudgingly. **_But only because I know you won’t leave me alone until I do. I will not get much done anyway with your incessant nagging until I agree to get some rest._**

She snickered to herself, knowing he really was tired and needed some rest but would pretend he didn’t need it and resent her insistence for him resting. **_Thank you._**

 ** _Hmmn,_** he grunted, deciding it was time to call it a night. He had trained nearly all day and most of his evening away, and if he was really honest with himself, he _was_ exhausted. He would turn in for now to appease Bulma and maybe once he knew she was asleep, he would start again.

As he was wiping himself down with a towel, Asia happened to walk by him. If his muscles weren’t burning as bad as they were, indicating to him that it was time to leave, her arrival was definitely his cue.

He never missed the way she looked at him, or rather how she _pretended_ to not look at him. It was almost obscene and made him extremely uncomfortable and he did not know how to deal with it.  So he completely ignored her and stayed as far away from her as possible. The last thing he needed was to inadvertently give her some kind of perceived encouragement since he feared that she was still delusional enough to grasp at just about anything.

Asia swallowed hard as she watched him from only a few feet away. His back was turned to her, but that was alright. He had the body of a god and no matter the angle, any angle on him was a good angle. She only wished he was _hers_ and not someone else’s.

While she was done chasing after him, it still hurt her to be in the same room as him. Watching him work and exert himself as hard as he did. The grunts that escaped his lips, the way the sweat rolled off his body; even the way he smelled was sometimes too much for her to take. It wasn’t fair.

Seeing him constantly in his ascended state was almost cruel as well. He was absolutely beautiful; never had she seen anything like it in her life, nor did she think she ever would again. He was the only one of their kind who had achieved it in over a thousand years.

Here he wasted his attentions and life mated to someone hardly worthy of a second glance from him. _It wasn’t fair_ , she told herself again. She wondered he had ever been with Bulma while in his transformed state. _Probably not_ , she scoffed bitterly to herself; he would undoubtedly kill her. _Such a waste!_ What she wouldn’t give to have him as he was right now. How intense would that be? It would be electrifying. And yet here she was, punished to pine after him in the confines of the ship. It was torture.

She watched as he wiped himself down with a towel quickly. She loved his hands; they were perfect. She could not help but stare at them and wonder what it would feel like to have his skilled hands all over her body; touching her and caressing her. He obviously had to be very skilled and conscientious of his hands that he never managed to hurt Bulma.

Not even that, the level of restraint and care and control he would have to exercise had to be exhausting for him yet she craved it. She would give almost anything for someone to handle her that way; with care and consideration and not like an animal the way his father treated her. She shuddered to herself as she thought of her own mate. _What a joke!_ She hated him. If something happened to him while she was gone and she never had to see him, never mind share a bed with him again, it wouldn’t be too soon.

Her father had not given her any other information to regards to his plans while she was gone; she had tried in the hope of confirming to herself that her son would indeed be safe with Bulma but her father hadn’t let anything further slip with regards to his plans. The one small piece of information she did get out of him was he was interested in using Bulma to work in the lab and advance their technology once Vegeta was out of the picture. The way Asia saw it that meant she was in no serious danger once King Vegeta was out of the picture and therefore her son should be alright. That was all she cared about.

With King Vegeta gone, that also meant she was a free agent to move on with her life and find someone else. The problem was, no one other than Vegeta caught her attention. Yet he would have nothing to do with her and she knew to even try with him was a waste of her time. If only there was someone else who could sweep her off her feet and make her feel like she was the only woman who mattered. What she wouldn’t give for that.

Unfortunately, the only male here who even gave her the time of day was Raditz and he was nothing more than a drunken fool and womanizer. She used to like him back in the day but Prince Vegeta had become the object of her affections until Bulma came along and ruined everything for her.

An odd mix of curiosity and jealousy over Bulma coursed through her once again. Curiosity at wondering how he could not be bored with her. Did he not wonder what it would be like to just lose himself and not have to be careful while being with someone; what it would be like to be with someone who was his equal and just be able to throw all abandon and caution out the window? And then the jealousy came into play. If he cared deeply for her then exercising that level of self-control while with her wouldn’t even be a burden to him. Why couldn’t she have had that?

She took a breath as Vegeta turned and looked at her suddenly. She felt her face redden in embarrassment at her obvious ogling. “You’re highness,” she commented.

“Bulma says your brat is doing just fine,” he said as he walked by her.

“Oh, good,” she nodded. “Thank you.”

He didn’t reply or acknowledge her any further, much to her disappointment as she watched him leave the gym presumably for the day.

Asia decided that him leaving was a good thing; all he did was distract her anyway. She needed to train and step up her efforts if she was going to make it through this unscathed. One never knew, maybe her father did have it right in that working alongside one another in combat was the one thing that would catch his attention. If she was to do that, then she needed to stop pining and start working. Vegeta was the perfect warrior. If she had even the remotest chance of impressing him, she had a lot of work to do and only two more weeks before they landed.

She went to the other side of the nearly empty gym to grab a weight ball off of one of the shelves; she didn’t want to overdo it being that she had done drills earlier on that day but decided she needed some work on her core.

The one she wanted was at the very top and unfortunately, she was a tad too short to be able to grab it. She reached as high as she could, standing on the tips of her toes, her fingers just brushing it. “Shit,” she sighed in frustration.

Asia was going to give up and choose something else to do when it suddenly launched itself off the shelf, crashing right into her chest and knocking her on her butt. _God damned this 300 times gravity!_ She cursed inwardly. It was a lot harder functioning this way at all times than she thought it would be.

“Sorry, I was only trying to help,” a voice mockingly said to her.

“I didn’t _need_ your help!” she snarled back, standing back up to find herself glaring at Raditz.

“Absolutely not.” He replied with a wink as he walked away, leaving her on her own.

Asia frowned at him as he continued on his way; it looked like he was finished for the day. _How nice of him to annoy me on his way out!_ She raged to herself. It was bad enough she had a hard time doing a few things here and there under the increased gravity, but even worse to be mocked for it. _Come to think of it, he’s been annoying me ever since we left!_ She thought.

“Asshole,” she grunted as she picked up the extra heavy ball and began her own work out.

-0-0-0-

Brolly had taken to discreetly following Bulma periodically throughout the days. He kept a low profile, not wanting her to know.

So far, there was nothing he saw as suspicious where she was concerned. She kept mostly to herself and didn't talk to too many people but was polite to all of the palace staff. She ate her meals either on her own or in the privacy of her quarters .

He noted that she spent most of her mornings working in the lab with Bardock but decided that there was nothing significant about that; Bardock was a loyal, faithful servant to the crown. He would not be involved with anything against his king. The rest of her days were spent with the two boys and that was about it. 

He had to keep a lower than normal profile when she was out in the afternoon because she always had the dog with her and the dog always noticed him.

Today she left the lab, didn't stop for lunch but packed up the kids and it looked like she was planning an outing. He wasn't sure if he should follow her or not. He did have training to do, but he was beginning to feel like following her around to appease his uncle was nothing more than a waste of time to him.

Brolly decided he would leave her be for the afternoon when all of a sudden the dog ran up to him and started barking at him.

"Shit," Bulma cursed under her breath. "Don't move or run or do anything! He's fine!" She called out, leaving the boys in the stroller and quickly made her way to Aro.

"Sorry, he can be a real ass sometimes." She said, grabbing his leash and calling him off. Aro reluctantly obeyed, and sat at attention on her left. 

"Interesting," was all Brolly said, eyeing the dog. While Aro had done nothing more than bark aggressively at him and he did listen and stop when she asked him to, he was still watching him carefully, almost anticipating something. 

"Well, you _have_ been following me all week," she pointed out casually and had to resist a laugh at the startled look he gave her not unlike a child who'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. "You thought I didn't notice? Well I did; and if I didn’t, he did and it's been aggravating him, which is why he came after you."

"Sorry." he mumbled, feeling his face turn red.

"Its fine," she shrugged. "I don't bite. He might if you piss him off and continue to act suspicious though. If you want to hang out, just ask."

"I just thought that-" Brolly stumbled trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for following her around all week. He felt bad enough for following and spying on her. "I thought Prince Vegeta would appreciate it if someone kept an eye on you while he was gone."

Bulma smirked. "Did he put you up to this?" she asked, her blue eyes lighting up.

"No,"                                                                                                                                                          

"Alright, well thank you for your thoughtfulness; he would be appreciative," she nodded. "All you had to do was say something though; it's kind of a bit creepy to just follow someone around."

"My apologies,"

"Whatever, it's fine," she said waving her hand in dismissal. "I'm heading out to the capital for a walk and to visit my friend, want to come?"

"Sure," Brolly answered. That was unexpected. "That is if I wouldn't be imposing."

"Not at all," she said, turning back to the stroller. "I could use the company and you can push the boys, if that's alright with you."

"I can do that," he nodded, following her. 

They made their way through the halls and outside the palace and headed out to visit Chi-Chi. 

Brolly wasn’t much of a conversationalist but Bulma didn't mind having him around. If she wasn't up to speaking much or had nothing to say, he seemed alright with that and she liked that. It reminded her of Vegeta in the way that they could hang out for hours and not say anything, just enjoy each other’s company and it didn't have anything to do with the bond. They just enjoyed being around one another.

So it seemed the same with Brolly only he was just kind of a silent companion which suited her just fine.

The rest of their journey to visit Chi-Chi went by without incident. Bulma enjoyed the walk through the capital and was more than happy to converse with everyone who stopped her. She found it odd that hardly anyone had seen Tarble. They all knew of him by name but none of them but for a small few had actually seen him in person. Of course he was fussed over, being that he was technically the next heir after Prince Vegeta.

She thought it was nice and made a special note to let Asia know and to ask Vegeta if it had been wrong for her to have taken him outside of the palace. There had to be a reason why Asia felt it necessary to keep him so sheltered. It hadn’t occurred to her that taking him on an outing would not be okay. None of the palace guards had stopped her on her way out, in fact most of them had greeted and nodded at her as she passed them with Brolly and none of them questioned where she was going with the Royal heir.

Brolly could not help but smile at the human woman. She was very confident and not at all uncomfortable with conversing with anyone who spoke to her. He could see why Prince Vegeta had been drawn to her; she had an easy going, very approachable nature and made time for everyone and anyone who came up to her and happily introduced them to Tarble and her own son Trunks, even to the second and third class population of which there were more third class hanging about than any other class of Saiyan the further away from the palace they went. While at first he had assumed she just could not tell how to differentiate between class distinctions it became obvious to him that if she could, she probably didn’t care.

He came to that conclusion as some of the more raggedy citizens approached her and she treated them just the same as one of the wealthy vendors she had been chatting with only minutes prior. It impressed him. Most first class or royal figures would not be bothered to even look at these raggedy Saiyans, much less stop to talk and introduce themselves and the company she had with her. It astounded him, actually and he relaxed. She did not need him around to “look out for her” as he had told her. No one here meant her any harm, in fact they all adored her.

If his uncle had anything to worry about with regards to her causing a political upheaval, from what he saw, she did not have to do anything or convince anyone to follow her; they would all on their own. She did not need to rally or spin deceitful lies and propaganda against the throne and cabinet. If anything did happen to her, they would be outraged and cause a riot all on their own.

Brolly wondered if his cousin, Asia had ever come down and conversed with the citizens of Vegeta-sei? He assumed not. No one knew that the second infant Bulma had with her was Prince Tarble until she told them who he was. They all knew, however that the other child with her was Trunks. He thought about how ironic it was that this girl everyone on his uncle’s cabinet and even the king himself seemed to despise had the complete adoration of everyone here, more so than the current queen. He understood the threat and why his Uncle was concerned, but if there was upheaval it would not be her causing it.

That was the information he would take back to his Uncle based on his careful observations over the past week. For them to just leave her be. She was perfectly harmless in his opinion and family ties or not, he would warn her if he suspected his uncle or the king were plotting anything against her during Vegeta’s absence.

It took them a while, but they finally made it to Bardock’s place to visit Penelope and Chi-Chi.

The two human women embraced as though they hadn’t seen each other in years and then put the three Saiyan children outside in the yard and sunshine to play.

Brolly was shocked at how much larger Goten also was than Prince Tarble despite only being a few months older.

The two women excused themselves for a minute, leaving Brolly there to watch over the boys.

“Ok, so who’s that again?” Chi-Chi asked suspiciously.

“Brolly, Asia’s cousin.” Bulma answered. “Didn’t you meet him at the banquet a few weeks back?”

“No, I don’t remember,” she said with a frown trying to recall. “Are you sure a family member of hers can be trusted?”

“Reasonably,” she nodded. “He’s not into all the political agendas from what I can tell. I think he’s harmless anyway.”

“Well let’s hope so,” Chi-Chi said. “Just be careful. You sure Vegeta won’t mind you hanging out with him?”

“Whatever,” she shrugged. “I don’t have anyone else to hang out with and I can’t spend all of my time with Bardock at the lab. If he wants to hang out then whatever, I don’t mind. It makes me feel better having him around. I don’t think he has any bad intentions. He doesn’t have any friends around here either and I kinda feel sorry for him.”

“You sure he won’t get like the wrong idea?”

Bulma frowned, that wasn’t something that she’d even considered. “I don’t think so, no. He knows I belong with Vegeta. I think over here they more respect that kind of thing than like back home where in some cases if a guy knew you were taken it was a challenge to see if they could get into your pants.”

“Well I hope so,” her friend sighed. “Do you want anything? I’m kind of hungry.”

“No, I’m fine but you go ahead.” Bulma weaved her hand in dismissal. “So have you heard from Kakarott since he left?”

“Yea, off and on,” she sighed. “What about Vegeta?”

“Oh yea, we talk every day. Usually in the evening before bed but sometimes a few times throughout the day. I told him I was coming to visit you with both boys.”

“That’s good he’s keeping in touch,” she sighed, putting together a few things for herself to eat. “Do you think he wants anything?” She asked, gesturing outside to Brolly.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged.

Chi-Chi grabbed a larger plate and moved her meal onto it and piled up extra food on it to share just in case Brolly wanted some and incase Bulma changed her mind. 

“So how are you doing?” Bulma asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look and sound really tired. Have you been sick?”

“No, I’m alright, I haven’t been sick this time,” she answered. “I am just exhausted, I don’t remember being this tired last time this early on. I’m thinking it’s just because I’m so stressed out about Kakarott being gone and because I have Goten to worry about. Penelope is a huge help with him but I feel bad for her helping out so much.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t mind,”

“I know she doesn’t but I just don’t want to take advantage, she has her own stuff she needs to keep up with too.”

“True, but I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way. Let her help.” Bulma suggested. “You can always have Bardock bring Goten by for the day on his way to the lab and I can watch him. I don’t have to go to the lab every morning. I have lots of work that I can do on my own; I usually have Tarble and Trunks with me, bring Goten by and then you can have a day or even just an afternoon to yourself to rest.”

“I suppose,” she answered. “I feel bad doing that though.”

“Don’t! How many times have you taken Trunks for us so Vegeta and I could have an evening to ourselves? Let me return the favor.” Bulma insisted. “I don’t want you getting sick and worn out.”

“Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll let you know in a few days. That does sound nice, actually.”

“Ok good.” Bulma smiled at her friend. “I’m going to hold you to that now, you know.”

Chi-Chi smirked at her friend and the two went outside to hang out with Brolly and the three Saiyan babies.

While they really didn’t interact much due to their young age they kept close together, which Bulma thought was nice. She hoped the three would grow up to be best friends and hoped even more so that when Asia returned, she would allow it. Tarble was a really good baby but was too sheltered. Having Trunks around had already been a good influence on him; he saw Trunks doing things like trying to stand and walk on his own and it made him want to attempt the same thing as well. Or if there was something that he wasn’t sure about, if he saw Trunks unafraid of it, then he wanted to do it as well.

Bulma hoped all this extra socialization was okay. She didn’t see the harm in it, but then again this wasn’t her culture and didn’t know what was acceptable for a Saiyan heir and what wasn’t. She just decided to keep on as she was and plead ignorance later on. It wasn’t like she was putting him in any danger or teaching him to do bad things.

Bulma and Brolly spent the rest of the afternoon with Chi-Chi and Goten. It had been a nice visit and a welcomed change of scenery for Bulma.

They left in the late afternoon in hopes of being back at the palace for dinner time so that she could return Tarble before anyone grew suspicious over his absence. They made it back much quicker than Bulma had anticipated and so everything was fine.

She gave a lot of thought to Chi-Chi’s warning about having Brolly around but decided she didn’t need to worry; he didn’t talk very much so what was the worry? She just appreciated having someone to talk to and accompany her and that was added to her routine, Brolly helping her with the two Saiyan boys and escorting her to visit Chi-Chi or whatever other excursion she’d planned for the day.

The rest of the second week went by just as quickly for her as the first had. 

-0-0-0-

By the beginning of the third week, everyone on the ship was functioning comfortably at 450 times gravity, much to Vegeta’s satisfaction. Everyone had done extremely well, not that they’d had much of a choice being that he insisted it never be shut off.

Asia showed up at the training center for a late night work out. She was so far very satisfied with her own progress. Her body was finally back to better than it was before she’d had Tarble and she was currently in the best shape of her life; strength, tone and endurance-wise. If nothing else, this trip had been worth it just for her to get some of her self-confidence restored.  

“Fancy a spar this evening?” Someone asked her as she was finishing up her brief warm up before starting on drills.

“With you?” She sneered at Raditz. He had been razzing her nonstop and she wasn’t sure if she should be annoyed or flattered; nor was sure if he was flirting with her or making fun of her. In any case, all he did was piss her off. Despite that, however, she had begun looking forward to their little encounters. It got her mind off of Vegeta and the rest of her personal problems and so the last two weeks on the ship training and being away from her father and the King had done her good. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so content. The only thing she could admit that she somewhat missed was Tarble but even then, she only thought of him once in a while.

Asia felt plenty of guilt over it. She loved her son more than anything but knew she had no natural maternal instincts either and should never have even considered becoming a parent. Sure she loved her son and he was the only good thing in her life but if she could have changed things, she would have rather not had the child. She had too many other things she wanted to accomplish in life and his own father didn’t have any interest in him because of his lack of strength and potential.

She was glad that Vegeta gave her a daily update from Bulma and it warmed her heart somewhat that he did that and she was happy that Bulma seemed to be taking good care of him but that was about the only time she thought about him. She had thought that she would be worrying about him and missing him but she wasn’t. Not really. Just knowing that he was alright and in no danger was enough for her at the moment.

“Well, seeing as we’re the only ones here,” Raditz replied, gesturing around the empty gym and a grin that she had come to like seeing.

“Whatever,” she sighed, feigning annoyance. “I have nothing better to do.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he chuckled, stretching his shoulders. “Shall we?” he asked, extending an arm out to her to go on ahead of him.

She gave him an odd look and made her way to the small arena floor and assumed a battle stance.

He chuckled at her and did the same.

“Well?” she barked at him. “Are you going to do something or are you going to just stand there and stare at me all night?”

“Ladies first,” he answered, beckoning at her to come at him.

“Ha!” she laughed before launching herself at him full force, hitting him square in the jaw.

“Oww,” he grunted, grabbing his jaw. “Good one.”

She smirked victoriously at him and went in to hit him again but he blocked it and tripped her. “Gotten rusty, have we?” he laughed.

Asia scowled at him as she rolled and jumped back to her feet, ready to continue. “You’re one to talk, pal,” she sneered as came at him again, determined to gain the upper hand.

“I can understand,” he laughed as he blocked another attempt at a blow from her. “Being a mother and all, takes up a lot of time.”

“What would you know about it?” she snipped. “All you’re good for is drinking and philandering.”

“Awe, that hurts,” he said, feigning offence as he threw a punch at her, which she easily blocked by quickly side stepping to the left.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” she asked, countering his punch with one of her own, managing to strike him in the arm while he was attempting to block it.

“Not exactly,”

“Then what is the truth?” she asked cattily. “Every time I see you, you have a new bimbo hanging off your arm.”

“Maybe I am biding my time.”

“For what?” she asked. “There’s lots of Saiyan women who would be happy to give themselves to you, an Elite. So what’s the problem, cold feet?”

He shrugged. “I found a girl, once.”

“Oh yea?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, her interest piqued. “And what happened, did she get tired of being one of the many in a revolving door of women you like to surround yourself with? Do tell.”

“She was great,” he said with a slight frown. “Unfortunately she was too busy chasing after other things and prospects that weren’t worth her time instead of seeing another, the more suitable option that was right in front of her; and so that ship has sailed.”

Asia stood there a moment as she listened to him; his joking tone had quickly turned serious and she wondered who he was talking about? “And you haven’t decided on anyone else since then?”

“Like I said,” he said with a smile. “Maybe I am biding my time. Nothing stays the same forever. She’s not stupid. Once she wakes up and realizes what her life has become, I’ll be waiting.”

“You’re such a loser,” she snorted, sending a kick at his mid torso, which he allowed. She had an eerie suspicion he was talking about her. “Come on, let’s get this over with!” she taunted, throwing another kick and punch combo that he easily blocked.

“I am not a loser,” he growled. “I am an Elite. The highest Saiyan rank there is with the exception of royalty of course.” he threw in his own kicks and swipes at her and was impressed that she was able to match him blow for blow.

“Uh huh,”

“So I could not put you up in anything as elaborate as the palace, but I would treat you as my queen.” he said before he managed to grab her arm, pulling her close to him and suddenly kissed her, something she had not been expecting.

Rather than pushing him away, she kissed him back hungrily for a moment before common sense kicked in and she realized what she was doing and shoved him away from her. “What the hell are you doing?” she hissed, not sure if she should be angry or flattered.

“Oh, come on,” he snorted. “You’ve been begging for it all week with your comments and dirty looks, I’m not dense.”

“I have not!” she objected. “You are completely delusional, you know that? And besides that, have you forgotten who my mate is? I could have you executed.”

“But you won’t,” he shrugged easily with a smug grin.

“How do you know?” she challenged him, ignoring that irresistible grin of his.

“I just know,” he shrugged. “Come on, there’s no way you’re happy with that old bastard.”

“What business is it of yours anyway?” she shot back.

“None I suppose,” he shrugged. “However I think it’s a complete waste that you are with him to begin with when you could be with someone your own age who could show you a good time and would be able to be faithful.”

“Ha! Like you could be faithful to one woman?” she snorted. “Give me a break! You’re the worst womanizer, aside from him, that I have ever met.”

“That’s not fair,” he sulked, actually looking somewhat hurt by her accusation.

“I think it’s plenty fair,” she said, crossing her arms stubbornly, her lips still tingling from the way he had kissed her only moments earlier. “Besides what does it matter? I’m taken, remember?”

“Oh, I remember, however what I don’t get is why you’re being such a hypocrite?”

“How am I the hypocrite?”

“If I was Prince Vegeta, you’d have been all about it, even now,” he argued, finally deciding to call her out on it after a week of flirting with her and not getting the results he had hoped for. “I’m not stupid, I see the way you look at him; everyone does. Including him! Guess what? We all think it’s pathetic.”

She scowled angrily at him. “You don’t know anything.” she hissed.

“I know enough. I know that you hate your life-”

“And what makes you the authority in everything about me?” she cut him off.

“It shows. You’ve been completely miserable since your father forced you to hook up with King Vegeta. Everyone knows you had a thing for Prince Vegeta and when that didn’t work out, you set your sights on his father like a bitch in heat instead of considering the better options that were right in front of you.” He accused.

“How dare you!” she shouted as she smacked him across the face as hard as she could. “I am your queen! You will mind what you say about me!”

Raditz smirked at her. “My apologies, my lady. Perhaps my comments were out of line. I will leave you for the evening, however let me leave you with this last thought for you to ponder; had you not been so narrow minded as to only be chasing after the wrong thing, perhaps your life would have been different. If you had been able to step back and see who it was who had a genuine interest in you rather than focusing solely on something that was not meant to be, then maybe you would have realized that happiness was right in front of you in the first place. You’ll never know now, will you?” he said in a serious tone before turning to leave.

Asia watched him leave with a frown as it began to dawn on her that Raditz always was pestering her and bothering her, ever since they were teenagers. Had he always had a thing for her and she had been so busy trying to chase after Vegeta that she hadn’t even considered it?

She remembered then once, a long time ago when she had been trying her hardest to win Vegeta over that he had told her in his one of many cruel rebuffs that an elite warrior was interested in her and to quit pursuing him. Had be known that Raditz was possibly interested in her way back then? Had she been that blinded by tunnel vision and her father’s agendas that she hadn’t even noticed?

“Wait!” she called out to him.

“What?” he barked back at her, clearly embarrassed by his actions and being shot down.

“If what you are telling me is true, why didn’t you make your intentions known back then?” she asked, trotting after him.

“Would it have made any difference if I had?”

She stood there a moment, pondering it. _Probably not_ , she thought to herself. Not had she only been completely consumed with trying to gain Vegeta’s affections, her father would have never allowed it, even though Raditz would not have been a bad match for her.

“Just what I thought,” he snorted as the silence dragged on. He shook his head at her and continued his way out of the gym, feeling stupid for even making his feelings with regards to her known. What had he been thinking? He was obviously beginning to go stir crazy on this ship that he had even considered bringing this up to her.

“If, say I was interested,” she called out after him again. “It could never go anywhere past this trip, you know that, right?”

“Not necessarily,” he shrugged, stopping again.

“What does that mean?” she asked. “Are you an idiot? You know _He_ would have us both killed, right? Never mind if he actually found out; if he even suspected such a thing it would be the end of both of us and my son most likely.”

“We could leave.” he suggested.

“Leave?” she repeated. “And where would we go?”

“I don’t know, anywhere?”

“You’re crazy,” she said. “He would hunt us down. Not to mention, I can’t go anywhere without my son.”

“So bring him with us,” he argued. “We can do this mission and we still have three weeks to plan on the way back. We choose someplace to go, someplace where no one would think to look and we grab your son and we leave in the middle of the night without so much as a trace. It’s that simple.”

“You would let me bring my son?” She asked completely floored.

“Of course!” he replied in an almost offended tone. “I don’t mind brats. I was hoping to have a mate and one or two of them by this point in my life anyway.”

Asia nodded as she looked at him closely, for the first time really seeing him. Sure she had grown up with him and had seen him and been around him almost every day, but she had never seen him as anything other than a fellow acquaintance. She remembered when she’d been about 12 or 13 years old, having a bit of a crush on him because he was constantly picking on her. She couldn’t remember now why or how her interests had been diverted elsewhere but they had. Most likely her father’s doing.

She looked at him and saw that he was completely serious, he wasn’t just trying to fool her or manipulate her, or he seemed sincere from what she could tell anyway.

“Where would we go?” she asked, seriously considering it.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Vegeta managed to successfully disappear for like two years, I’m sure it can’t be that hard.”

She nodded.

“Why, you actually interested?”

“Maybe,” she said coyly.

“Well, you have time to think on it,” he said. “I would make it worth your while and while I don’t have a palace for you to live in or any of that other crap, I _would_ treat you like a queen. That I can promise you.”

She felt her cheeks redden. That was exactly what she wanted. Sure she loved all the conveniences and the luxury of the palace but she would leave all of that in a heartbeat to be with someone who would treat her like a mate should treat their mate; not like a convenience and a brood mare. She had tried with the king, she really had. In the very beginning it hadn’t been so bad but after a few weeks it had been a rapid decline and she had regretted listening to her father’s council ever since.

“I know you would,” she nodded awkwardly, feeling giddy like a teenager again. “Let me think on it.”

He huffed. “Ya, okay.”

“No, I am interested.” she said, reaching out for his arm and looking at him seriously. “I just have to make sure it’s safe before I make my choice.”

“I will make sure you and your son are safe. You have my word on that,” he said. “Just say the word and the moment this ship returns us to Vegeta-sei, we will take your son and leave without any explanation. No one needs to know.”

“What about Kakarott and Bardock?” she objected. She knew they were a very close family and she had seen firsthand what it had done to Bardock and even Raditz when it had been believed that Kakarott had been killed. She should have known then that Raditz liked her. She had been there for him a lot during the first few weeks in an effort to console him. Sure she was never friends with Kakarott, but he was still one of them, they had all grown up together and were around the same age. It had been devastating.

“I’ll let Kakarott know and he can let my father and mother know and that’s it. No one else needs to know.

“And so what would we do, then?” she asked, trying to wrap her mind around this so sudden development. “Just start new lives somewhere else?”

“Yea, why not?” he replied. “I’m up for a bit of an adventure.”

She nodded at him. “Alright, I will seriously consider it. If you can guarantee me the safety of my son then I will most likely take you up on this ridiculous offer.”

He grinned at her. “I will do everything I can, my lady.” he said before leaving her alone in the training gym.

This was an unexpected turn of events. She wished she had known about his interests in her a long time ago. She could admit that where Vegeta was concerned he wouldn’t have been able to sway her attentions but if she had known that he held affection for her, she would not have pursued the king at her father’s request. That she was certain about. She never wanted that union.

Truth be told, she would have jumped at the opportunity if any of the men here had given her a similar opportunity. Anyone would be better than returning to her life with the King. But with Raditz, despite her harsh comments and judgements about the way he conducted his personal life, was a decent guy. She knew she had a real shot of happiness with him. That he was more than happy to include Tarble in their life also meant more to her than anything. Many Saiyan males would not be as keen on taking on another male’s child as their own, especially in this particular scenario. As much as Asia did not care for being a parent, she did love her son and she could never leave him behind.

With the first real smile she could remember having on her face, she decided to retire to her quarters for the night and give serious thought to this new development.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter contains bad language and some graphic violence... It was extremely difficult for me to write being that fight sequences are so far out of my element.

**_Chapter 14_ **

It was nearing the end of the third week. Bulma missed Vegeta terribly but was still able to get lots done in terms of helping out Bardock in the lab with some of his projects that he'd fallen behind on. She and the older Saiyan were like two peas in a pod and worked extremely well together. They had been working on yet another new scouter design all week. Bulma had suggested he make one just for her and Chi-Chi so that they could keep in touch better and so that had been their latest project. It was nearly done.

Brolly was also a huge help to her where the boys were concerned and she was grateful to have him as a companion these past few weeks. He'd become a good friend to her and she hoped they would still be able to hang out once Vegeta came back. 

She still hadn't told Vegeta about Brolly she thought guiltily. She didn't know why she hadn't told him. It wasn't like there was anything to tell. She and Brolly were just friends, nothing more. She supposed she knew Vegeta wouldn't like that she was spending so much time with another guy but it wasn't like she had developed romantic feelings for him. She liked him the same way she liked Bardock and Kakarott. He didn't mind if she was with them so she justified it that way.

As Bulma finished putting Trunks down for the night she decided she should turn in early herself rather than take a bath; she was tired. It had been an exciting and somewhat emotional day for her.

Once she had finished working with Bardock in the lab, she met Brolly for lunch, which had turned into their normal meeting spot. He would train in the mornings and then meet her for lunch and they would spend the afternoon together with the boys. It was a comfortable routine and gave her someone else other than Bardock to talk with.

Brolly had even been willing to let her use him as a decoy and so she was able to do some bite work with Aro. She had taught Aro to bite someone from behind, under the arm rather than the forearm. Ever since Yamcha wounded him, she had been wanting to teach him to bite someplace else, someplace less predictable. Right at the back of the arm from behind was where she thought it would be ideal. It was someplace unexpected as well as difficult for someone to reach or cause injury to the dog.

Brolly hadn’t seemed to mind and so they had spent a lot of time on that. Today Aro had been nearly flawless, which made Bulma happy. He loved to work and since she had been doing this with him every day, he was happy, tired and feeling fulfilled.

While giving Aro a break, Trunks had managed to stand up and walked a few steps all on his own towards Aro and plunked himself down next to the Shepherd.

Bulma had been so shocked and thrilled that she just sat there dumbly watching her baby walk all on his own without any help. Sure she’d known this moment was coming, Trunks had been able to stand on his own for a while now and he had been making the effort to actually walk. It still took her by surprise though.

However her happiness and excitement was eclipsed with deep sadness that Vegeta hadn’t been there for this important event with her; Brolly was.

It had been hard for her to see how excited he was for Trunks’ achievement and he’d gotten up from where he’d been sitting and encouraged Trunks to try again, which he did. He stood up and very slowly wobbled his way over to Brolly before his little legs gave out and he fell back on his bum right in front of him.

Bulma had managed to hide her emotions behind the excuse that her little baby was growing and maturing so much quicker than she wished he was, but really it had made her sad that Vegeta had missed out on this. She wished more than ever that it was Vegeta that was right there with her at that moment encouraging his son to walk rather than Brolly.

She hadn’t stayed that much longer with Brolly after that and she felt bad that she knew he noticed her sadness. She just hoped he would understand that it was just that she missed Vegeta and had nothing personal to do with him or anything that he’d done. She appreciated his presence and help; he was so good with the boys. She just really missed Vegeta and hoped that he would do what he needed to do quickly so that he could turn around and come straight back.

Bulma held herself together as she got ready for bed, refusing to let herself get all emotional about something that could not be helped. She changed and crawled into the over-spacious bed, lying in the middle and clutching Vegeta’s pillow close to her. She frowned to herself when she realized it didn’t smell like him anymore. Nonetheless, it was still his pillow and it made her feel better to have it close to her every night.

She sighed in frustration as sleep wouldn’t come to her but she stayed in bed anyway.

-0-0-0-

They landed one day earlier than expected, which was fine by Vegeta. He wanted things over and done with so he could get back to Bulma and Trunks. As the days of arrival drew closer the more anxious he became. He knew his family was just fine; he usually talked with Bulma several times a day but still the feeling that something was amiss gripped him. 

Kakarott had counseled him that he was over thinking things and that everything would be fine but that was what was beginning to worry him. Things were fine. Almost _too_ fine.

His father hadn't made a single appearance according to Bulma, which was good but it made him suspicious. Then there was the matter of his father being cordial to him the few times they had spoken since he’d left. It all seemed to be falling into place a little too conveniently he felt.

 _No matter_ ; he shrugged. He was here now and ready to do this no matter what the outcome.

 ** _We have arrived,_** he said to Bulma, reaching out to her through the bond; he knew it was very late on Vegeta-sei and she may be asleep. He hoped she wasn’t. He wanted to talk with her before he left the ship.

 ** _Okay,_** she replied almost instantly. **_You be careful out there, you hear me?_**

 ** _I will,_** he replied confidently. **_Everything is alright with you and the boy?_**

**_Yea, everything is fine._ **

**_Are you alright?_** She asked, picking up on his anxiety.

**_Yea. Why are you not asleep?_ **

**_Don’t know, I went to bed a while ago and I just can’t sleep. I miss you, Vegeta,_** she said softly. **_Trunks and Tarble and I are just fine, don't worry about us. Just focus on doing what you need to do and get back to us. We need you._**

 ** _I need you,_** he replied quickly before he could stop himself from thinking it. He hadn't told her of course, but he missed her greatly. He wished he had been more attentive to her in the weeks leading up to his departure. He knew he hadn't handled himself well and he had taken his stress out on her. A huge part of him was surprised she was even still talking to him and patiently waiting for him to return. He wouldn't have blamed her if she had packed up Trunks and went to her parents as soon as he had left. That she hadn't meant the universe to him and he vowed to make it up to her somehow, someway once he returned. 

 ** _Hmm, no you don't,_** she brushed off jokingly. **_Now go and win this thing so you don't miss anything else. Trunks started walking this afternoon._**

 ** _That is good to hear,_** he said, dismissing the stab of disappointment that was taking hold. He had known he would miss quite a bit while he was gone; he had prepared himself for that. _This is a good thing!_ He told himself. His son had graduated from helpless infant to a toddler; a being that he would more understand how to interact with. He could commence his training once he got home. So he had missed this milestone in his son's life but it would be the first of many and he would be sure to not miss any of the others.

 ** _Don't worry about us,_** she said again ** _. Focus on being safe and getting home. Block me out if you must. I don't want to be a distraction to you._**

 ** _Hmmmn,_** he grunted, not sure if it was a good idea or not.  ** _I will do that but the moment things have calmed down I will seek you out._**

 ** _I know you will,_** she said cheerfully. **_No news is good news, right?_**

 ** _Right._** He agreed. **_In the meantime, if things do not go well with you, you are to leave. Do not wait to hear from me, just go. I will catch up with you when this is all over, do you understand?_**

 ** _Yes, Vegeta._** She sighed. **_I have everything I need on me at all times on the off chance things take a turn for the worst. Alright?_**

**_Good._ **

There was a long silence between the two of them for several minutes that felt like forever to them both as they knew it may be a few days or weeks before they spoke again, depending on how things went. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that long, but who knew?

 ** _I love you,_** he said to her brusquely and instead of being elated, it sent a chill through her. Was he having second thoughts about this? Was he actually afraid things would not work out to his advantage? She wanted to ask him but thought better of it. He was just preparing to step onto a battlefield. Who knew what was going through his mind.

**_I love you too._ **

Vegeta put up a wall between them then before he said something else to completely demean himself, not wanting to drag things out between them either.

He had picked up on her thoughts. He wasn’t afraid, he was just concerned about the fate of his family. Failure was not an option to him, he needed to be focused and ready for anything.

“Are we there yet?” Nappa asked eagerly in a childish tone as he barged into the ship’s control room right then.

“Yes, Nappa.” Vegeta sighed. Truthfully, he was relieved that they were finally here. They all had been going more than just a little bit stir crazy in the confines of the ship over the last three weeks. Many of them were becoming antsy and had been picking on one another out of boredom and pent up energy. It was time.

Vegeta waited until everyone was on the main deck before addressing them.

“I do not fully know what it is that we are up against,” he started. “I personally chose each and every one of you for a reason. Most of you are experienced, have seen more battles than myself even; I am relying on your experience and tactical skills to get us all through this. I expect us to all work closely together, no matter petty differences that may have arose during our travel here. 

“The moment we exit this ship we are fighting for Vegeta-sei; we are fighting for ourselves, our mates, our offspring. We are even fighting for those who have given their lives and lost them all because of our bondage to this horrible race,” Vegeta continued on, emphasizing as much malice for the Ice-jin that he could muster up. “We are fighting to free ourselves from their putrid influence so that we may rise and stand alone in this galaxy. They have tainted and marred the reputation of our great race for decades. It is time we take back our freedom and stand alone in this galaxy on our own so that we may be recognized and respected as protectors, not destroyers.”

A few of the men clapped in agreement.

“We will wipe them out and anyone who still holds loyalties to them as well. They will be given a fair opportunity to side with us as the galaxy’s protectors. I do not wish for us to replace Cold and Frieza as the universe’s tyrants. We are better than that,” he said. “Our victory here will not only free ourselves from their control but hundreds of other planets as well. We will set them free. No more purging or child slaves. It all ends with the fall of the Ice-jin Empire.

“So go out there. We all deserve a chance to test out our new found skills. I am proud of each and every single one of you. You have all applied yourselves in the short time since I have returned and look how much you all have improved. Have you not improved much more than you ever could have imagined?”

Nearly all of them clapped or gave verbal acknowledgement.

“Let us go,” he nodded, having said pretty much everything he needed to say. “Show them no mercy as they have never shown us any. Destroy as many as you can and return here so that we may bring our women and children stories of how the Saiyan Race finally has risen up from our shackles of servitude and we took our place as we were meant to in this universe; strong and proud. It all begins the moment we step off of this ship.”

They all cheered and clapped in agreement.

Vegeta split them all up into groups of threes and decided it best that they stay close, but spread out somewhat. That way if one group ran into trouble there was always another not far behind.

They exited the ship and found themselves greeted by the most freezing, uninviting atmosphere Vegeta had ever encountered. He was thankful for his choice in flight suit beneath his armor; it was only a little thicker than his usual flight suit so it did not impair his movements. It was made of black thermal wear so that it trapped in your own body heat and preserved it. He had heard rumors about the Ice-jin planet that it was aptly named. They were surrounded by an ugly windy blizzard of huge snowflakes and snow drifts measuring up to six feet tall.

The wind was blowing so hard and the snow falling so heavily that they could not see more than two or three feet in front of them; it was nearly a whiteout. “Everyone keep your scouters on,” Vegeta advised.

“Which way do you think we should head, Vegeta?” Kakarott asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said checking the planet’s stats again on his scouter. “Cold’s main base should be located just under three miles north of here.”

“Do you think he knows we’re here?” Kakarott asked.

“I don’t know,” Vegeta shrugged. “Is everyone off the ship?”

All of his men nodded. “Good,” he said and capsulated the ship. “I will have the ship on my person, we do not need Cold’s soldiers finding it and destroying it. I have no intention of spending more time than I absolutely have to on this shithole.”

Several of his men laughed in agreement.

“Split up into your designated groups,” Vegeta said. “You are to all stay in touch and notify me of anything suspicious. Let’s go.”

The three some’s all levitated into the air and slowly made their way north towards Cold’s base.  

-0-0-0-

“Hey, look, Vegeta!” Nappa announced, pointing to a small group of three soldiers standing at attention less than a kilometer away from Cold’s base.

They came to a stop and Vegeta wasn’t sure what they should do; automatically take them out or ask to be brought to Cold? They were definitely of Ice-jin origin. They looked almost identical to Frieza’s final form in that they were about the same height as him and had a long tail. They were sleek and smooth and all together beautiful in their perfect silver appearance.

Vegeta fought back and swallowed a wave of anxiety sight of them. The hatred of that Lizard Lord still infusing him with an almost blinding rage even after all this time after defeating him so effortlessly. He shook it off momentarily however knowing that now was not the time to lose his head. Hopefully these would be as easy as Frieza had been but something told him not to just assume that.

“What do we do, Vegeta?” Nappa asked, drawing his attention back completely to the here and now.

“I can’t get a read on them, Vegeta,” Kakarott said, pressing buttons on his scouter. “What are they? Are they even real?”

“I don’t know, Kakarott.” Vegeta replied, trying to get a reading from his scouter and not getting any useful information either.

"Do you think it's the welcoming committee, Vegeta?" Nappa asked with a laugh.

"I don't know, Nappa." Vegeta growled, still trying to get a read on the mysterious statues.

"There's a group of three soldiers standing at attention or something over here, my Prince," Turles' voice came on over the scouters. "I can't get a reading on them though.  I don't think they are anything."

"There's three here as well and I can't get a reading either," Raditz confirmed. 

"Here too," Kakarott replied to them when Vegeta hadn’t. 

“I say we go after them and attack head on,” Nappa suggested. “They look like nothing more than helpless scraps of metal to me.”

“Hmmn,” Vegeta grunted, he agreed but they were standing there almost strategically in perfect formation as though they were there for a reason. “Hold off.”

"Do you think we should ignore them and just carry on towards Cold’s base?" One of the soldiers in the other groups asked.

Vegeta didn't reply, he just frowned as he looked at them. He knew Cold's base was just beyond this, his scouter was telling him so and he could just barely make it out depending on which way the wind blew. So there were at least three groups of these things, making it nine in total. "No," he finally replied. "They are here for a reason."

"So what do we do?"

"Hmmmn," he grunted, still trying to figure out what they were and determining if they were a threat using his scouter, which was still telling him nothing useful; only the approximate weight and dimensions of them. They were made by some kind of unknown material so even the statistics readings coming back to him weren’t reliable. 

"Well they're obviously just machines, which means they can be broken." Nappa scoffed, getting annoyed that their trek had stopped.

"But we don't know what they're made of or if they are technologically superior to us," Kakarott pointed out.

Nappa snorted in reply. "Well, if you all are going to hang back like a bunch of pussies, I'm going to make quick work of these garden statues. They're kind of ugly, don't you think? Maybe I can turn them into modern art."

"Don't be stupid," Vegeta advised. While he agreed with his fellow Saiyan that they couldn't stand here all day trying to decide what to do, he also had the feeling it was a mistake to dismiss them all together. They were set up the way they were for a reason; he was sure of it 

"Whatever you say, Vegeta," he rolled his eyes and took a few steps forward. "Let me handle this, just remember to not be mad because I'm having all the fun, alright?" And with that he took off full speed flying towards the small group, powering himself up, ready to cause destruction and mayhem, the two things he loved doing the most in this realm. 

"This is a bad idea," Kakarott murmured to Vegeta, taking on a battle stance just in case these things weren't benign.

Nappa rained down an overwhelming amount of small blasts at them, laughing gleefully and humming an obnoxious tune all the while as he did so while flying around and circling them at a blinding speed that the average person would not have not been able to flow with their own eyes. 

The intense gravity training had done him well and despite his massive size, he felt light as a feather and was more lithe and quick in his movements than he could ever remember being. He made a mental note to commend that broad Vegeta had taken as a mate for creating such a thing. While Nappa never expected to ever be able to achieve Super Saiyan status he had improved more since his Prince had returned and introduced them to the gravity chamber than he had in all his years of faithful service and dedicated training in the Saiyan army.

Nappa shouted triumphantly as he sent one last large ki blast down towards the three statues just for good measure. 

Once the smoke and snow had cleared, he gapped at the lack of damage he had actually done to them. They were completely unscathed. "What? No way!" he exclaimed angrily. "I hit those blasted things twenty times over!"

A moment later they began to move, slowly positioning themselves to look up directly at him. "Oh, so you've woken up from your slumber have you?" He laughed.

"You did not awaken us," one of them said.

"Hey, you hear that, Vegeta?" He called out. "They can talk! What else are you good for other than collecting dust and being unsightly?"

"We have been waiting to destroy you," one of the others said. "Thank you for replenishing our energy supply."

"Ha haa! You are going to destroy us? Ha! Hey, Vegeta, did you hear that? They're comedy drones. Maybe we should salvage one or two and bring them back with us. Maybe your father would like to use ‘em as like court jesters or something?"

"Watch yourself, Nappa!" Vegeta shouted at him as one of the bots levitated to his level at an alarming speed.

They all watched in absolute horror as its arm impaled Nappa right through his armor and clean through the large, burly Saiyan’s chest like he was nothing more than soft butter. A moment later the hole was made bigger as a ki blast blew straight through him, finishing him off completely and making the hole in his center rather large, charring all of his inner organs.

At least it was a quick, clean death. Nappa hadn’t even a chance to react or feel anything it happened so fast. There wasn’t even any blood or debris, except for the rest of his huge body now falling from the sky. The hole that had been made was a perfect circle, cauterized from the heat from the blast and not leaving a mess behind.

Vegeta and Kakarott both stood there gaping in complete and utter disbelief. Nappa was not only one of the most experienced warriors that Vegeta had selected to come with them but he was also the largest warrior in the Saiyan army. He had never been defeated.

"Holy shit! Vegeta, did you see that?" Came Raditz' voice over his scouter. 

"What the fuck was that?" Came Turles' shout. 

"Did that thing just blow a hole clean through Nappa?" asked another member of the Saiyan army.

"Affirmative," was all Vegeta could say as he stared at Nappa's now lifeless body which had fallen to the ground mere feet from them; his insides still smoking from the heat generated from the blast. 

"What the fuck are those things?"

"What should we do, your highness?"

Vegeta was bombarded with questions from all of his men. He stood there a moment as he recovered from the shock. "Regroup." he commanded. 

Within just a few minutes all of his warriors were surrounding him, all looking just as shook up and shocked as he felt.

"We need to proceed with caution. Obviously they are not real, we cannot pull up any information on our scouters, and they are at this point useless." He said, though he had nothing else to say to them.

"How do you want us to proceed?” Someone asked.

Vegeta wasn’t sure. They had to do something, but what? He did not want to risk losing any more of his men carelessly. He thought for a moment but nothing seemed to come to him. The bot that had taken out Nappa was still in the air but had turned around and was seemingly watching them.

“Nappa was a fool,” he growled angrily, still in disbelief that Nappa had not only been taken out so easily but also that he had been so stupid and careless in his approach; it was unacceptable for a warrior of his caliber to have made such a gross tactical error. He had grown up with the older man always with him through his youth before his service to Frieza and Nappa had been a constant presence in his life from the time he’d left Frieza’s service initially at the age of 17 and had accompanied and advised him while on missions his father had sent him on until he had met Bulma. He had been there more for him when his mother passed than his own father had been. Nappa had taught him much in the art of tactics and warfare and even though he had given Kakarott the title of First Lieutenant, he still valued Nappa’s opinion and advice on the battlefield. In a lot of ways the bald brute had shaped him and meant more to him than his own father did. “Instead of proceeding carefully he was cocky and arrogant and greatly underestimated these _things_.”

“How many of them do you think are here?”

“I think nine at least,” Kakarott said. “But I think we should assume there’s more.”

“Should we all just attack them head on?” Turles asked. “Like there’s only three here. What if we all attacked them head on, destroy these three and move on to the next group of three?”

“Because I’m not sure if they are alive or just robots,” Vegeta snapped. “If they are just machines, who knows how powerful they are or how long they can go before they are worn out.”

"I think our best bet is to attack them all head on, Vegeta,” Kakarott advised. "It's too risky to use ki. We don't want to charge them up and give them an advantage."

"You idiot!" Raditz yelled at him, smacking him upside the back of his head. "Did you not see what that thing did to Nappa? It put its arm right threw him like a kebab. So attacking them head on is the worst idea. But be my guest. Natural selection exists for a reason. Just don't think I'll have your back."

"Enough, Raditz!" Vegeta snarled. 

"Well, really."

"Enough! Or I'll send you to deal with it on your own!"

"My apologies my prince."

Vegeta was quiet a moment trying to think of what the best course of action would be. 

"If I may suggest, my prince," an older Saiyan warrior named Ruco spoke up. "Kolard and I encountered something similar to this on a purge many years back. They were robots or Androids I think they were formally called. We couldn't get an accurate reading off of them of course, being that they weren't real. They were exceptionally strong and possessed an artificial intelligence like nothing we had ever encountered. They were faster than us, stronger than us and smarter than us."

"I remember," the older Saiyan next to him named Kolard nodded. "We lost many fine comrades on that mission."

"How did you manage to defeat them?" Vegeta asked. 

"We had to be very careful. Use of ki wasn't an option. All that did was make them stronger," Ruco said. "So we did what Kakarott suggested and attacked them head on. Two or three of us at a time against one. It was difficult but the best option. We still lost many being that they were highly intelligent and able to anticipate just about anything we did before we did it. I suspect that these are the same. We will need to be quick and attack them head on and tear them to pieces."

"We dismantled them completely, one by one." Kolard confirmed. "It is a dangerous risk, my prince. We lost many. If these things are even remotely similar then you risk potentially losing at best half of your army."

Vegeta scowled deeply as he took in the information and mulled over the potential risks. He hadn't brought that many with him to begin with. One hundred men. That was it. So the thought of potentially losing even one third, let alone half was not something he wanted to consider. However, they were one hundred of the best warriors in the Saiyan military had to offer. What other choice did he have? They couldn't just pack up, turn around and go home. 

"We will do that then," he decided after a brief deliberation. "We will split into groups of six and attack them in groups of three. Hit them hard." 

Vegeta looked at the three robot Androids. Two were still standing as they had when they had found them. The one that had killed Nappa was still in the air not doing anything of interest but just seemingly watching them. He hoped they were far enough away that they couldn't hear them discussing their strategy.

"Here is what we will do," Vegeta started quietly. "In each group of six, three will launch an attack on them and three will hang back and wait. When the first three begin to tire, the other three will jump in and take over if need be. However the second wave coming in needs to come in discreetly, take them by surprise in order to have the greatest advantage. At that point either someone from the first wave can continue on or take a few moments to collect themselves. We do not know their energy supply, whether or not they require a blast to replenish their energy supply. We on the other hand do not need to wear ourselves down this early on when we also do not know how many of them we may be dealing with."

"It is a good plan, my prince," Ruco said. "The ones we encountered seemed to be able to go on forever. They bided their time, essentially played with us until we were tired. Then they struck and destroyed the majority of us."

"Hmmmn," Vegeta grunted. "Then let us assume we are dealing with the same thing."

"Let's go then," Turles said. "Before they decide to come at us."

"Everyone form their own groups of six," Vegeta announced. "Remember, absolutely no ki blasts under any circumstances. We don't need to give them any more of an advantage over us than they already have. When your group finishes off the three of them, split off into another group of three and assist another group," he instructed. "We will continue on like that until they are all finished and destroyed."

"Yes my Prince." Several of them nodded. 

"Kakarott, Raditz, Turles and Asia you all come with me," he said. "Ruco and Kolard, I want the two of you to split up and lead your groups since you two have dealt with this sort of thing before. Is there anyone else here that was with you or has encountered something similar?"

No one said anything.

“Wonderful,” Vegeta grumbled under his breath. “Alright. Let’s go!”

Vegeta powered up into all his Super Saiyan glory; if he was going to do this, he may as well make sure he was as fast and as strong as he could be.

The men all split up quickly into new groups and took off in opposite directions in search of the enemy.

“Kakarott and I will start,” Vegeta said to his group as him and Kakarott leaped into the air, going after the robot that had slain Nappa.

“Hey, I want in too!” Raditz objected, following them without a second thought. “You guys hang back,”

Asia and Turles nodded, keeping an eye on the two others still standing still on the ground.

“If they make a move, that’s our cue.” Turles said.

“Right,” Asia agreed. It had been so long since she had fought in a good battle. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the adrenaline rush. _This_ was where she belonged.

Vegeta, Kakarott and Raditz surrounded the Android and the three of them launched a forceful attack of punches and kicks at it. To Vegeta’s astonishment, the Android did not retaliate all that much, but blocked a few of the blows and allowed most of them.

“Hey, uhm, where did they go?” One of the men’s voices came up on the scouters.

“I don’t know,” another answered.

“What do you mean?” Turles asked, watching the two in front of him like a hawk just in case they tried something.

“They’re not here!” Ruco replied.

“We can’t find the ones we found earlier either,” another soldier confirmed. “It’s like they completely disappeared.”

“Shit,” Turles cursed, watching Vegeta, Kakarott and Raditz continue their battle with the single Android. “Just keep looking for them. They cannot be far. Stick with the plan and within your assigned groups and attack them on sight.”

“Noted,” Ruco replied. “I shall check in once I find something.”

Turles simply nodded in response. “This isn’t good,” he said to Asia, turning his full attention back to the two seemingly dormant Androids in front of them and the fight happening just a few feet above them. Unsure of whether or not it was time to intervene, he kept his attentions divided between the two, ready to intervene and assist his Prince and two nephews at a moment’s notice if need be.

Vegeta dodged a swipe from the Android easily, he was beginning to become frustrated. So far, they had been sparring with it three against one for several minutes at least and he had not been able to find any weakness to it. Its movements were as calculated and lithe as his own. Something had to eventually give, however.

He just hoped it wasn’t Kakarott, Raditz or himself.

He slammed a knee into its back, hoping to slam it into the ground and gain some kind of upper hand on the blasted thing before they began to tire and open themselves to weakness and silly mistakes. No avail however. His knee didn’t even leave a dent or send it more than a few feet away from them.

Raditz snarled as it suddenly latched onto his arm with a firm grip. He tried to throw it off of him but it had too tight a hold. It only took a moment and he began to feel extremely sluggish. “What the fuck? Get it off of me!”

Kakarott wrapped his arms around its neck trying to distract it and get it to let go of his brother.

“Don’t let it get hold of you!” Raditz shouted as he saw Vegeta come in to help. “It’s draining my energy.”

Vegeta grabbed it by the elbow, pulling at it as hard as he could, his teeth bared and snarling at the amount of strength it possessed while Kakarott pulled its head back. It effortlessly shook both Vegeta and Kakarott off of it and in the process accidentally let Raditz go, who by that time was feeling more than drained and plummeted down towards the ground.

Asia leaped out from where she was observing the fight and managed to grab onto him, breaking his fall somewhat. “Are you alright? What happened?” she asked. “Turles!”

The moment Raditz was on the ground, he launched himself into the air to help Kakarott and Vegeta who were back onto it trying to inflict some sort of damage.

“Raditz!” Kakarott yelled as he saw Turles jump in.

“He’s fine!” Turles said, throwing a punch at it and missing.

“Do not let it take a hold of you!” Vegeta warned. “It will absorb your energy.”

“What the hell do we do then?” Turles asked.

Asia managed to get Raditz sitting up. “Are you alright? What happened?” she asked again. 

“It took a hold of my arm and it somehow stole my energy,” he explained, still out of breath and feeling like he wanted to pass out. “It was only a minute or so but I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”

She turned to look at the other two Androids who were now nowhere in sight. She looked up towards the others who were still fighting the one. She wasn’t sure what she should do, make sure Raditz was alright or go and help the others.

“Go help them,” Raditz said, picking up on her indecision. “That thing is impossible. Go help. I will rest a moment and I will jump back in. Just don’t let it get a hold of you.”

“Right!” she nodded, taking off into the air to help the others.

Vegeta had the thing from behind with his arms under its arms and over its neck so that its hands couldn’t grab anyone. “Tear it up!” he screamed to everyone as it struggled against his hold and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hang onto it, despite him charged to his full potential; it was that strong.

Kakarott and Turles both grabbed a leg and pulled in opposite directions, trying to destroy it. Asia saw an opportunity and flew in sending and elbow straight into its center only accomplishing feeling like she’d smashed her elbow bone.

As Kakarott and Turles kept the Android distracted by worked at trying to pull the legs off, Vegeta became impatient with their lack of progress let both its arms go and grabbed it again by the right arm and pulled it up and back behind it. Without thinking, he shot a thin lazer - like ki beam into the shoulder socket where the arm connected with the body.

"No, Vegeta!" Kakarott exclaimed but no sooner were the words out of his mouth did the arm separate from the body and shocked, Kakarott and Turles let the legs go and watched the android plummet to the ground.

“You were saying, clown?” Vegeta smirked triumphantly as he crushed the arm in his hand like it was cheap plastic. “Everyone, if you can get in close enough to it, the limbs can be severed with a thin concentrated ki beam. Once detached from the body, the limbs are easily disposed of. Their strength lies in being whole.” he said into his scouter, wanting to notify his men before they were all done for.

“I thought they absorbed ki?” someone asked.

“They do. Be very careful,” Vegeta clarified. “Thin concentrated ki beams only and only to remove a limb. No body shots. Once removed from the body, the limb is easily disposed of.”

“Got it!” Ruco said.

A few others replied, acknowledging this new piece of information.

Vegeta turned around and smirked at Kakarott and Raditz who had managed to remove another limb off of the Android by this time.

“Well done,” Asia commented, watching them from a few feet away.

Vegeta smirked and shrugged, “What can I say? I’m clever.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m going to find one to beat up on; those two that were with that one seem to have taken off somewhere. They could be anywhere.”

“They probably got frightened off,” Vegeta snorted.

“Done!” Kakarott shouted triumphantly, holding up the torso piece and roasting it. “Who’s next?”

Vegeta smirked at him before flying away to look for another Android to destroy. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all?

This new found information helped the Saiyan Army greatly. They fought hard and managed to destroy a few of them. The Androids pushed them and they pushed back harder except then the Androids pushed back even harder and slowly, the Androids began to take out the Saiyans. 

Even Vegeta was having a hard time with the Android he was currently fighting with. After the destruction of the initial android, he, Kakarott, Turles, Raditz and Asia split off to assist the others. It had been like this particular Android had singled Vegeta out from everyone else and so now here he was, fighting with it for he wasn’t sure how long now.

It was like the ultimate fight with the most brilliant, perfect opponent. Vegeta had never experienced anything else like it. It was thrilling and terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. 

Thoughts of failure did not even enter his mind as he fought and matched it blow for blow, fighting like a mad demon with the single minded mission of annihilating it completely. He did manage to sneak a quick look at Kakarott from the corner of his eye; he seemed to be holding his own just fine as well. For the moment anyway.

Although Vegeta was still doing just fine, the Android he was fighting was showing no signs of slowing down. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not. His stamina was pretty good but how long could he keep this pace up? A while yet, he conceded. But not forever.

His brief distraction checking up on Kakarott cost him a kick to the ribs and a tail lash that sent him crashing down into the snow and ice. Instead of being angry at his own foolishness, he laughed in glee. Never had he fought an opponent this difficult or one that fought as calculating and technically perfect as he did. It was as though they were evenly matched. He knew he had to watch himself. Winning this would be more of a battle of the wits than of strength. 

"Are you okay, Vegeta?" Kakarott called out to him.

"I am fine!" Vegeta ground back, taking off to go have another round with the Android. "Mind your own business!" He wasn't angry, just wanted him to focus on his own fight and not make a silly mistake and pay for it by not paying attention like he had.

"Back for more?" the Android asked in an amused tone, cocking its head to the side. 

"Oh I never left," Vegeta spat. "I am just getting warmed up. Now are you finished playing games with me or are we going to waste more time here? I have a very important appointment with Cold. I came here to kill him, not to dance with you." he goaded it.

"Very well, I was growing bored by your predictable fighting style," it replied in a voice so eerily close to Frieza's that it made Vegeta's skin crawl. "I must admit that I was hoping for a more interesting fight. So far I have been thoroughly disappointed in you."

"Alright then!" Vegeta roared. No one called him predictable and boring! "Let's get on with it!" He charged at it again, striking at it and missing his mark as it phased in and out of his sight, prompting Vegeta to follow it, strike and only hit clear air again.

It chuckled at him. "I thought we were getting serious now?" It chortled condescendingly. "You are far too predictable, my Prince." And to prove his point he phased out of Vegeta's line of sight only to effortlessly reappear directly behind him and whispered in his ear: "You have no chance here, your men are all going to die today; and you? You are the only one we have been instructed to keep alive."

Vegeta snarled and threw an elbow back in an effort to catch it in the gut but it had phased away again this time right in front of him and when Vegeta glared at it, it disappeared again, coming in once again behind him. It wrapped its tail tightly around his waist, like a vice grip; pinning his arms to his sides. It wrapped its left arm around his neck, immobilizing him completely and with the right he punched him a few times in the side.  

Vegeta gaped in pain; those hits had felt like he'd hadn't even been wearing his protective armor. He struggled to get out of its hold and to breathe but it was a wasted effort as the more he thrashed, the tighter its hold on him became. 

Vegeta changed out of his Super Saiyan form the moment he felt his energy level begin to drastically drop. Raditz was right, it was draining his energy.

"Let me show you something," it said calmly, phasing from where they were and suddenly below them there were several of his men fighting the rest of the Android army scattered all over, fighting. Some were in groups and some were in single hand to hand combat. To his dismay, he counted out at least half in his view were dead. All torn apart; limb for limb. He snarled in rage as he saw two Androids rip an older soldier in half at the torso and toss his body aside as though it were nothing more than useless rubbish.  

Vegeta watched as the two Androids then split off to go after two other soldiers that were barely hanging in there, fighting their Android. 

The Android who had Vegeta chuckled and they phased again and reappeared elsewhere, this time on a high up snow drift. Vegeta once again tried to free himself but it was no use. He clenched his teeth in rage as he witnessed more of his men falling to the Android warriors. 

"Do you see?" It asked him calmly. "Do you understand how insignificant you and your warriors are by comparison to us?" 

"What the hell are you?" He asked, despite beginning to feel very tired. 

"That is an excellent question," it replied politely. "Our creator created us to destroy you and your race. We are android versions of the deceased Lord Frieza, whom I am to understand it was you who murdered him."

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "I did, and it was truly one of the more memorable moments of my life."

"Right, well my creator did not take too kindly to that and so he created us in Frieza's likeness in his honor and in his quest to destroy you. Not only that, but he has done extensive research on you and your race. I know _everything_ about you. That is why I am so easily able to anticipate what you are going to do before you even do it. I already _know_ it before you even _think_ it.”

"I see," Vegeta replied, grimacing at the sight of another soldier's gruesome demise. This wasn't good. He had to find a way to save his men. It was a waste for nothing and if he had known this would have been the outcome, he would have come alone. It wasn’t that he was sentimental towards his men; it was an honor for a Saiyan Warrior to die in glorious battle. If they were faced with an enemy they could not overcome, then they had no right to survive. This, however was nothing more than waste and it made him angry that he had blindly lead his men into this. "Well if I am the one Cold wants, I’ll tell you what, call off your horde of toaster freaks and I will send my men home. Take me to Cold, you already have me, I will not resist.  Take me and let my men go on their way."

"A tempting offer, I must say; however I am afraid everyone you brought here is going to die today, I expect within the hour or so. Look over there,” it said, pointing to Cold’s base. From the altitude they were standing at, they could see Cold’s base. Vegeta’s stomach dropped as he counted ten new Androids exiting Cold’s base and flying towards them. “You failed.”

The Android brought him to yet another location, this time he could see Raditz and Asia both fighting an android on their own and it wasn't looking good. Asia seemed to be holding her own pretty well but he could tell from Raditz stance that he was getting tired. Vegeta looked away in disgust, knowing that within a matter of minutes he would most likely be done for as well. 

He looked to the right and saw Kakarott struggling on his own to gain the upper hand on his Android but at least he didn’t look like he was in trouble just yet. 

The Android laughed and dropped Vegeta suddenly. Vegeta, feeling more than drained from the Android absorbing his energy for the last several minutes, combined with the deep despair settling in the pit of his stomach, allowed himself to just plummet to the ground and into the cold snow. 

This had been the plan all along. 

Within just a few hours, the numbers of the proud Saiyan Army had dwindled to nothing. More and more Vegeta was growing frustrated and desperate as he tried to think of something, anything to turn this disaster around.

He should have had this. What made him angrier than anything was the fact that he currently had less than half his men left and he hadn't met Cold yet nor had they made a dent in the Android army. Every time they managed to destroy one or two three or four would emerge from Cold’s base; they were getting nowhere fast.

"I've been played,” he murmured as realization began to crash all around him as he sat numbly in the snow where he had fallen, taking a moment to regain some of the energy he had lost just now.

How could he have not seen it coming? It was so obvious now to him. He could not win this, there was no way. He was out numbered and his soldiers out classed. Unless he could think of something right this second, there was no hope. 

He had been set up; and in his arrogance and lust for battle he had foolishly taken the bait. Not only that, he thought with a sinking feeling, he had left his family behind on their own. If anything happened to him right now, they were unprotected. His father had planned this. He realized then with astute clarity that this was the reason his father had been on good behaviour all this time. He was waiting for him to fall to Cold and then he would go after Bulma and Trunks. Perhaps on the off chance he did accomplish everything he had hoped to on this mission.

Vegeta chuckled darkly to himself at the realization. “Well played, old man. Well played.” His father had been smart enough to leave well enough alone to save his own skin from his son’s wrath just in case. He had out smarted him. Well, Vegeta wasn’t completely unprepared in the event he hadn’t been successful in his quest against Cold and he only wished he would be able to see his father’s face when he realized that his son had in the end had out smarted him in his own plans.

 ** _Woman?_** He called out to Bulma, not wanting to waste any time in letting her know. **_Where are you?_**  

 ** _I'm fine,_** she replied. **_Are you alright? What's going on? I can't sleep. You're stressing me out with whatever is going on. What's wrong?_**

**_No one has come for you?_ **

**_No we're fine. Vegeta, what is it?_ **

**_You and Trunks need to leave Vegeta-sei right away._** He said almost frantically.

 ** _What? Why? Vegeta, what’s happened?_** She asked.

**_It was a set up._ **

**_What was?_ **

**_This. My leaving. You were right all along. I cannot win this; my father had to have known that. You need to get out of there, now._ **

She was silent a long moment as she took what he was saying to mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, grit her teeth together for a moment as she collected her thoughts and checked in her emotions; now was not the time to rag on him about how she had known this would happen. **_Will you be alright?_**

**_Fuck if I know. Just get yourself and the brat off of Vegeta-sei.  I will be fine if you can do that. Do not waste time. Take Kakarott's family with you if you must; I do not care. But should she want to stay or you are unable to speak to her immediately, leave her behind. You are to leave as soon as possible._ **

**_I can't just ditch Chi-Chi!_** She objected. **_It can't be that bad, Vegeta.  I can't believe you're giving up._**

 ** _Who said I was giving up?_**  He snarled.

**_You're the one making contingency plans and scaring the shit out of me!_ **

**_I need to know that you and Trunks will be safe. As long as I know that, I can face and deal with anything else._ **

**_Just get out there, Vegeta._** She pleaded. **_Get out. Right now. I'll take Trunks and Tarble and we'll go back to Callisto and wait for you there._**

 ** _Are you completely insane?! Do not be stupid! I cannot run away from a battle!_**  He raged at her. **_Run away indeed! Just get the hell off of Vegeta-sei. Trust no one. Do not speak to me again until you are off planet. I must be free of distraction._**

**_Okay, I just have to get Trunks and Tarble ready and let Bardock know. I can’t just ditch and disappear, Vegeta. He’ll worry._ **

**_I don't care about Bardock! Just get off of the damned bloody fucking planet now!_ **

**_Alright! I am! God!! And suck up your pride for once in your life and leave that situation before you get yourself killed!_ **

**_Woman, the only thing that is going to get me killed is you if you do not listen to what I am trying to tell you and leave! I cannot just waltz out of this predicament; it is not that simple. I must see it through to the end no matter the outcome. All I require from you is to follow my orders and leave. Go back to your parents. You are to stay there until I tell you otherwise._ **

**_But-_ **

**_But nothing! Just do it!_ **

**_Alright,_** she said after a long pause. **_Watch out for yourself and I will see you on Callisto. Alright? I love you._** Was all he said before putting up a mental wall, blocking her out completely.

Bulma laid there for several minutes before she sat up on their bed. She looked at her hands, fingered the delicate blue and black ring on her finger. She wasn't upset. She wasn't panicked. She wasn't frightened or angry. She felt nothing. She was numb. 

She didn't even really have any specific thoughts in general. Part of her brain was telling her she should start packing things immediately and find Bardock to begin making arrangements; it's what Vegeta wanted. The other side was telling her not to panic. Maybe Vegeta was over reacting. She knew from experience that Vegeta took hers and Trunks safety very seriously. If he knew she was just sitting here like she currently was, he would have an absolute fit.

What was the point in her getting all over excited and stressed out though? She had faith in Vegeta that he would come out on the winning side of this whole situation. 

Bulma knew she had to leave Vegeta-sei as soon as possible but she didn’t want to leave without word to Bardock and without at least giving Chi-Chi the option of coming with her.

She got out of bed and looked outside the window of their bedroom; it was starting to get light out. She would need to start her day soon anyway. She began packing her belongings that she thought she would need before feeding and dressing Trunks for the day.

Bulma packed up everything that she could think of, both hers and Vegeta’s things in hopes that he would find a way out and would join her soon on Callisto. He had to make it out of there, he just had to; she refused to think of an outcome where he wouldn’t.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta stood up finally, brushing the snow off of himself. He couldn't see the Android that he had been fighting with. If it was the plan to kill everyone but him today he didn't have anything to lose. He powered himself up to his glorious Super Saiyan form and went to assist Kakarott and as many of his men as he could.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Warning for foul language, graphic violence and gore. 
> 
> And just so there isn’t any confusion, the Android who spoke with Vegeta is from here on out referred to just as the Android or It. No name and no reference to he/she. It’s an IT.
> 
> Anyway, get yourselves comfy! This is a long one…

The Android who had spoken with Vegeta made his way back to Cold’s base. It supposed now was a good time to give them an update. However, It suspected both Cold and Its creator would not be impressed that It had returned without Vegeta in its custody and with news that the Saiyan army was still standing. It didn’t care though. It had been entertaining to play with them. Let them think they had a chance of victory and then destroy them.

It didn’t understand the emotion behind this need to destroy and annihilate. It supposed the reason behind it was that their creator must have programmed them that way. However what did not make sense to It was how the Saiyans could still continue to fight on. Shouldn’t people know when they were conquered, It wondered? No matter, it would all be over soon enough and its curiosity was ended as quickly as it had crossed its mind. Its orders had been to lead the army of Androids to destroy the Saiyan army Prince Vegeta had brought with him and to bring Vegeta back to Cold alive when the rest of his men had been successfully slain. So far, It decided, they were right on schedule.

It made its way into the base taking a brief inventory of droids still to yet be activated. It mused that they probably did not need to activate or send any more of them out.

“Where is Prince Vegeta?” King Cold asked the Android when it waltzed into his throne room in what could only be described as an aloof, care-free manner.

“He is on the battlefield,” It shrugged. “Contemplating and coming to terms with his soon to be apparent if not already losses I should suspect.”

“Why did you not bring him?”

The Android shrugged again easily. “His army is still fighting.”

“Why haven’t they been destroyed yet?” Cold demanded.

“All in good time, my king. All in good time,” It replied casually. “In less than an hour the only remaining Saiyan will be Prince Vegeta; then I will retrieve him and bring him to you. You will see. I did, however, take the liberty of letting him know that all of his men will have perished within the hour and that he would be the last one standing. He replied something about having an appointment with you? I do not remember. It was a brief, fleeting conversation.”

Cold regarded the Android coolly. It reminded him so much of his son and he still had not decided yet if he liked that or despised it. “Gero, you said that these Androids would be beneficial in that they would follow orders better than actual soldiers. Here I have an android that has defied what I asked of it and even justified its reasoning’s behind it. If it were a soldier, I would have had it executed for daring to defy my orders or alter them in any way, shape or form.”

“The android is the perfect warrior, my King.” Gero replied nervously in It’s defense. “I created them to not only follow orders but I gave them artificial intelligence so that they may be able to make their own independent decisions. I can understand your frustration, however a machine that cannot make its own decisions is useless as a warrior. It would be disastrous. I created them to have reason and sound judgement. How else could they win if they were only instructed to kill? The Saiyans are clever; Prince Vegeta especially. They would have found a way to wipe my androids out if they did not possess some measure of free will where their decision making programming was concerned. Fear not, they will get the job done better than any soldiers under your command, I can assure you.”

The Android nodded once at Gero in gratitude of his explanation.

Cold glared at Gero a moment; he wasn’t sure if he agreed or disagreed. “You are certain the Saiyans will fall within the hour then?” he asked the Android.

“Positive.”

“Very well,” Cold sighed. “Go and finish what you started. However you are to bring back Prince Vegeta whole and as undamaged as possible, do you understand?”

“I do, my King.” It bowed and turned to leave.

“When this is over, I want you to make some changes, Gero.” Cold said. “I need them to follow my orders to the T. Not take them and do as they wish. I do not care if the end result is in my favor. I need them to obey absolutely.”

“As you wish,” Gero replied.

“I will be contacting Vegeta and letting him know that I very nearly have his son. Make the necessary preparations for his arrival. I cannot have him escape.”

“Everything is nearly ready,” Gero said with a gleeful smile. He was very much looking forward to meeting the Saiyan Prince again. They had met once before, albeit briefly. However Gero had learned much about him during his time with Lord Frieza. He had become fascinated to the point of obsession with the Saiyan race as a whole and had done as much research as he could on them. However, the only thing missing from his research was not having a real, live Saiyan to study and experiment on for himself.

Now that they would soon have the Saiyan Prince himself and very soon his woman and half breed child, Gero was almost tickled pink at the endless possibilities! He had so been looking forward to know the result of Bulma’s child; had it been born mostly human? Or had it inherited its father’s amazing potential? He had been so disappointed that things had not worked out before. This time, he was ready and able to contain the Prince. He had greatly underestimated the bond between the Saiyan and the Brief’s girl; it had been one of the biggest disappointments of his life and he was ready to remedy that. “I am ready for Vegeta, his mate and son.”

“Good.” Cold replied.

-0-0-0-

After the Android had left Vegeta, he had taken a few minutes to recover; not just his energy but his mental state as well. He knew he had to be thinking clearly if he was to get any of his men out of this predicament he had led them into. Now was not the time for him to sit and ponder all the would have, could have and should have options.

He knew that he had to stay behind here. If that was Cold’s plan, then he had thought well enough in advance to carry it out. All that mattered to Vegeta was getting even a handful of his men out of here, which at the moment wasn’t looking good.

Despite still feeling spent from the loss of energy, Vegeta was still easily able to keep up, out maneuver with careful planning and gain the upper hand of _most_ of the Androids, while his men were unable to keep up for long. It struck him as odd that the one Android he had fought earlier seemed smarter and quicker than all the rest. He wondered if that was true or if he only thought that now because he was fighting as hard as he could, holding nothing back. Now that he knew to target the limbs and that they were nothing once dismembered, he found it easy to destroy them, but only _if_ he could get his hands on one of them. They were still faster than him.

He snarled in rage as he witnessed another one of his men whom he had gone to assist, perish gruesomely before his eyes at the hands of the android. In retaliation, he was able to grab onto its tail while its back was turned and sever it and a leg. The android snarled at him and made an attempt to grab him, but it missed and Vegeta grabbed its arm, severing that as well and smashed his fist through the abdomen.

Vegeta went to check on the soldier who had been mortally wounded by the android; although unable to assist any further in this battle, perhaps he could be saved?

“Th- thank you, my P-prince,” he wheezed, coughing up blood. Upon closer inspection, Vegeta was able to tell he would not be leaving this battlefield.

“For what?” he spat in shame.

“For, for choosing m-me to fight at your s-s-side,” he replied with great difficulty.

“My choosing you has led to your death,” Vegeta sighed, watching as more of his men began to fall all around him. Sitting here with a dying soldier was a waste of his time if there were others he could help. “And everyone else’s. It was my error to come here at all, let alone with an army; I am shamed by my actions.”

“Do, do not blame you-yourself, young Prince,” the soldier replied, grabbing a hold of Vegeta’s flight suit by his forearm and pulled him closer to him with a strength that shocked Vegeta being that the soldier had a hole in his stomach so that his internal organs were out on display and he was bleeding out rapidly. “You are young and inexperienced, but you will make it through this and this will make you an even st-stronger commander and general than you are now. You will s-see. It is my great honor to have fought and died under your leadership.”

Vegeta swallowed back anger and shame. How could any of his men still feel anything other than contempt towards him now? Despite wanting to argue with the soldier, he simply nodded at him. At least the man was not cursing him and making him feel worse than he already did, although that would have almost made him feel better. A confirmation of his failure that it wasn’t just in his head. He had been very wrong in leading his men into this suicide mission. “It is an honor to have had you fight with me,” was all he was able to say in reply and he meant it even though he felt the words to be insufficient.

The soldier smiled at him and let him go then. “Un-unleash hell.” he said.

Vegeta smirked and nodded once before leaving him to take on another android. He managed to destroy several more, all with relative ease, despite beginning to feel weary himself. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could function at this level. He was more than thankful that he had spent his entire journey in his transformed state under the increased gravity. The gravity here was about the same as on Vegeta-sei and so he felt lighter and quicker. Had he not done that, he would have been done and drained hours ago.

He made mental note to commend Kakarott for the suggestion and wondered now where the third class clown was? He had not seen him in a while, not since he had been fighting the Android who had actually spoken to him and had informed him of the eventual outcome of this battle. He hoped Kakarott was alright.

Vegeta noticed Raditz, he had crossed paths and had assisted him in finishing off an android or two a few times now and each time, Asia wasn’t far behind, which he thought was odd but did not have the time to think or dwell on it. However, there was some part of him that was relieved that she was still doing alright and had not fallen yet. He wasn’t sure if that was simply because she was a female and he felt a responsibility to make sure she was alright based solely on that or because he really didn’t feel like caring for another brat if something happened to her. Whatever the reason, as soon as he saw that she was just fine, he sought out another soldier who did need assistance and helped out.

“Whoever is left, regroup back to where we landed. Help anyone you can if you find them struggling but head back,” he said into his scouter after destroying another android. “We need to retreat.” he added after, trying to keep the shame he felt out of his tone. Retreating was not something the Saiyan army did and if they did, it was only in the direst of circumstances. He only hoped his men would understand and not fight him on this or ignore his plea. It was very clear to him that if he did not gather whomever was still standing that very shortly there would be no one else left but for himself.

He helped a few others out as he came across them and ordered them back to the meeting point. Some balked and argued with him and he had to pull rank to get them to agree to retreat but most listened to him and agreed that they were beaten. Vegeta was surprised there was anyone left at this point, not many but a few. Yes, they were making progress and had taken out a fair number of the androids, but the androids were picking them off at a much quicker rate than they were taking them out.

Vegeta nodded in satisfaction as he saw five of his men form a group and retreat back towards the meeting point. Hopefully they would make it. He felt another stab of alarm and dread as he noticed then that Kakarott was not among them. It had been far too long now since he had seen him and he was beginning to worry so he decided to look for him. He knew Raditz was alright; he and Asia had responded to his call to retreat and were looking for survivors or helping any who were struggling with an android to get out. He wondered why they had not come across Kakarott yet or why Kakarott had not responded to him.

For that matter, Turles hadn’t responded either, which was rare. He hadn’t heard from Ruco or Kolard or anyone else, which meant that none of them would have gotten his message to retreat and could either be dead already or they were still out there fighting. He pressed the buttons on his scouter in an attempt to find anyone else and was dumbstruck at the findings. There was Raditz and Asia who were stopped near a fading energy, the group of five he had seen which seemed like they were fighting at least two androids. His initial instinct had been to go and help them until he found one other energy level that was still strong and was fighting two androids on their own.

Vegeta hoped to high heaven that it was Kakarott. If there were any gods out there smiling down on him this day he at the very least wanted Kakarott to get off of this planet. Without further deliberation, he shot off in the direction of the single energy source. The group of five would just have to hold out. After all, they were at the advantage of five against two.

As he neared the other energy source, he allowed himself an inward sigh of relief. He recognized it as Kakarott’s minutes before he’d even seen him. What struck him as odd was how far away from everyone else he was and wondered why he was all the way out here when the battle was a few miles south? Cold’s Base was mere meters away, he could see it clearly despite the blizzard.

Vegeta shook his head and growled something about _Clown Logic_ before jumping in to help his First Lieutenant.

“Hey, Vegeta!” Kakarott greeted cheerfully as he threw a kick into one Android’s groin area and an elbow into the other’s chest, making them both fall to the ground. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be helping everyone off here?”

“I was but I was looking for your stupid ass!” he growled in anger, despite his relief that Kakarott was alright. “Why the hell are you all the way out here?”

“Because,” he answered, whooshing away from the first Android and punching it in the face. “You wanted everyone to head back, right?”

Vegeta grunted affirmatively as he grabbed onto the tail of the Android Kakarott had just punched, severing it and beating it with it.

“So I was distracting them here so the others had a chance to get out.” Kakarott said matter of factly, winded from exertion. “If someone is here, they don’t go looking for anyone else when they exit those gates. So I figured, I can keep them busy here and everyone else can take care of the rest.”

“You idiot!” Vegeta snarled, still beating the Android with its own tail. He was trying to get a hold of an arm or a leg, but it seemed they had figured out that the Saiyans knew of their one and only weakness and so it continually out maneuvered him.

In sheer aggravation, Vegeta sent a ki blast at its stomach, knowing it would replenish its health and energy somewhat.

It grinned gleefully at him as though thanking him for the extra energy and Kakarott, who had been watching the entire exchange was quick enough to grab a leg while Vegeta grabbed an arm and the two dismantled it and quickly moved onto the other one, who seemed to be even quicker than its counterpart.

Together they managed to overpower it quite easily with a series of well executed kicks and punches. What gave them the advantage was they both knew each other and their styles so well they worked in such a way that they were a compliment to each other rather than a hindrance.

As they fought, there was a huge energy blast that blinded them both because of the light intensity and because it made the wind blow in every direction, which in turn made the snow fall thicker for a moment. Instead of this impeding them, it was a blessing as the android flew back into Vegeta and he seized the opportunity, grabbing it by the neck from behind.

Vegeta snarled in glee as he severed its head, causing it to fall brokenly to the ground.

"So what's your plan then?" Kakarott asked now that they had a free moment.

Vegeta stood there silently watching as new androids began to exit Cold’s base. He knew if he was going to get Kakarott and the others out of here the moment was now. "I have no plan," he admitted quietly in shame. "Raditz," he called into the scouter. "Are you still around?"

"Yea," came a reply. "Turles is gone. It's only Asia and me left from what I can tell. That blast took care of anyone who was left."

"Fuck!" He whispered to himself, realizing that his last remaining group of five were the ones who had been destroyed in that blast that had helped him just now. What a waste, what a complete fucking waste was this all was! 

"What do we do, Vegeta?" Kakarott asked calmly. "We can't win."

"You think I don't know that?" He spat. 

"Did you tell Bulma yet?"

He nodded. "I did. She should have left by now."

"Alright. I kind of hope Chi-Chi stayed behind with my mom."

"I don't care Kakarott," he growled. "As long as Bulma is gone and far away from my father that is all I care about. Now quit dawdling and let's go find Raditz."

Kakarott sighed in annoyance as he followed his prince. Sure Vegeta was his prince and his best friend and he could appreciate that he was worried about Bulma and Trunks’ wellbeing right now but sometimes he was so self-centered when it came to his own family that he never attempted to relate to anyone else and their worries; it really picked at him. He had every right to worry about the wellbeing of his own mate and son especially now that Chi-Chi was pregnant.

Kakarott loved Bulma like a sister and he knew the two women were close. However, he also would rather that Chi-Chi stay on Vegeta-sei where he felt confident she would be well taken care of. If he and Vegeta didn’t make it out of here, which at the moment it wasn’t looking too good he would feel much better if he knew Chi-Chi was with his parents. They would help her and look after her and his offspring for her remaining days.

 ** _Chi-Chi?_** He reached out to her through their bond. It wasn’t something he did very often and she was still upset with him for leaving her there and not staying behind. He had only spoken to her a little since he had left. When Chi-Chi was angry, he had learned the best thing was to just leave her alone.

 ** _What is it?_** She replied almost immediately. He couldn’t help but smile to himself; she didn’t sound angry.

**_Have you heard from Bulma today?_ **

**_No, why? Is everything alright?_ **

**_I don’t know yet,_** he said carefully, not wanting to unnecessarily alarm her. He wasn’t resigned to thinking all was lost just yet. He and Vegeta had made it through some pretty tough scrapes together and now they both had something worth fighting for and worth coming back to. They couldn’t lose this time. He had faith they would pull something out of their repertoire. **_Things aren’t exactly going our way but I think it’s too early to panic just yet. Vegeta is playing it safe and already told Bulma to go to her parents._**

She was quiet a moment, thinking about the possibility that things may not turn around for them. **_Alright._**

 ** _If she contacts you, I’d like it if you stayed put with my parents._** He said, getting straight to the point. **_I know you guys are close but in your condition I think you’re best bet is to stay behind. My mother will help you and I would feel a lot better knowing you were with my parents._**

 ** _But I can’t let her go on her own,_** Chi-Chi objected.

**_Yes you can. She’s smart, she knows how to pilot the ship, and she knows how to get to where she needs to go. She will be just fine. It’s not forever; just until Vegeta and I get ourselves out of this mess. Besides, if the King goes after Bulma, I don’t need you and Goten caught in the middle; you’d both just end up being collateral damage._ **

**_Oh, so what, I’m just supposed to let my best friend go on her own?_ **

**_This time, yes._** He said a little harsher than he meant to be but he knew he had to remain firm on this if he was going to be able to convince her to stay behind. **_I would appreciate it if you would just stay behind. Bulma will understand; especially if you just blame your decision on me and my concerns for your safety._**

 ** _Oh, you would appreciate it if I stayed so that means something? I would have appreciated it if you had stayed here but you went ahead and did what you wanted anyway!_** She threw back at him angrily. **_And here it’s looking like you and Vegeta may not make it back-_**

**_I never said that, Chi-Chi. Things just didn’t kick off here in our favor but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s still early yet and Vegeta and I have found ourselves in and gotten out of worse scrapes than this before. He just let Bulma know now to leave as a precaution and I am asking you to stay behind._ **

She was quiet for a long time and he could feel how angry she was with him at the moment. He felt really bad that he had let her down that much by deciding to leave with Vegeta but he’d had a bad feeling about this mission and felt strongly enough about it that he couldn’t just let Vegeta go on his own.

 ** _Alright, fine._** She grudgingly agreed. **_I’ll stay here if that’s what you want._**

 ** _Thank you._** He said whole heartedly. **_I love you and I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow when I make it back._**

**_I’m holding you to that, mister!_ **

Kakarott smiled again to himself. **_I’ll see you soon. Take care._** He said, putting up a mental wall between them so as to not be distracted. He needed to focus if he and Vegeta were going to figure out how to get themselves out of this mess.

"Where are we going, Vegeta?” Kakarott called out to Vegeta who was several feet in front of him now. With the blizzard picking up even more, he could barely see him.

“To find your idiot brother,” Vegeta replied.

They walked for a while, not wanting to raise their energy levels and attract the attention to any of the remaining Androids in the area.

Raditz and Asia were together but not moving which made it easier for them to find them with the use of their scouters and they were not bothered by any of the Androids, which Vegeta found strange.

“You guy alright?” Kakarott asked once he saw them. Raditz was crouched on his knees, holding his arm and Asia was standing by him.

Vegeta scowled at the two of them.  They looked awfully comfortable together and he wondered right then if there wasn’t something else going on there. Since they landed they had been nearly inseparable.

“Yea,” Asia replied. “You?”

“I’m fine, actually,” Kakarott shrugged. “I have a few cuts and bruises and I’m sure by tomorrow I’ll barely be able to move but I’m okay. What happened to Raditz?” he asked, kneeling by his brother in concern.

“I killed one of those things,” he said. “And just as I was destroying the remaining bits I was clipped by one flying by in pursuit of someone else. Anyway, then it decided to come after me and that fight didn’t go so well. It twisted my arm nearly off.”

“I destroyed it,” Asia said. “I think his shoulder is broken though.”

“Oh and how nice for you to sit by and nurse that for him instead of helping everyone else out.” Vegeta snarled.

“Fuck off!” she shot back at him angrily. “I destroyed like eight of them. How many did you get? You don’t look like you’re in such great shape yourself!”

“There is no one else left out there?” Vegeta asked, ignoring her.

“I don’t think so, no.” Kakarott replied, pushing the buttons on his scouter. “I’m not picking up any remaining energy signals.”

“When things seemed to get bad, we decided to look for anyone else to help and then we got your message and still searched while we headed back here,” Asia said. “No one replied back to us and anyone we did find, there wasn’t much left of so we kept heading here.”

“Should we just assume everyone else is done and finished?” Kakarott asked, looking in concern out into the blizzard.

“I can go out and do another search just in case,” Asia volunteered.

“I’ll go with you,” Raditz volunteered, struggling to stand up.

Vegeta rolled his eyes at him and his obviously injured condition. “We are on a mission to get everyone off of here, not to satisfy your cock, Raditz.”

“It’s not about that!” Raditz exclaimed.

“It isn’t?” Vegeta asked accusingly. “You spent your last week hardly training and being how you two have been nearly inseparable since we landed, I assume you spent it wasting your time with _her.”_

“With all due respect, my prince but isn’t it because of your cock we’re in this mess all along?” Raditz argued.

“What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I think Bulma is great,” he back tracked somewhat. “But it’s because of you and her that we are here and making an embarrassment out of ourselves. You couldn’t just have kept her on the side and done things the way you were supposed to and keep things with her low profile?

“Instead, you blindly took her as a mate, pissed off Frieza and your father. Got my brother killed in an attempt to keep her safe. Yea, okay he wasn’t actually killed, but for almost two years while you were gone we all thought that. Then I don’t know what happened but you disappeared off the face of the universe and you found your woman, took up with her and then destroyed Lord Frieza because he was smart enough to know to use her against you.”

“How dare you!” Vegeta snarled, grabbing him by the front of his armor.

“Hey!” Asia shouted at him. “He’s right, you know. Maybe you should listen to what he has to say because while no one has said anything to you, it’s what everyone thinks!”

“Do you think I give a fuck about what everyone else thinks?”

“Clearly you don’t because look where you’ve gotten us!”

“I’m sorry, my prince,” Raditz said. “I mean no disrespect or insult towards you or your woman. I have met your woman and Kakarott’s woman. They are decent and acceptable despite not being Saiyan. I do not begrudge you that; but with all due respect, even you must admit that you have let your affection for your woman dictate your actions. You have not been thinking clearly since you met her. You’ve started a war here all because of her. I agree that the Ice-jin need to go, but you should not have destroyed Lord Frieza the careless way that you did all because of your woman. What did you think was going to happen? That Cold wouldn’t care and you and your woman could just live happily ever after?”

"Hey! That's enough!" Kakarott shouted at them in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. "It doesn’t matter here who is at fault. What's done is done and right now isn't the time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves over things we can't change. We need to concentrate on making a plan."

Raditz glared at his younger brother but nodded in agreement. "I apologize, my Prince."

Vegeta nodded once in acknowledgement of his apology and let him go. While he was angry at being called out, he knew Raditz was right. He had let his emotions rule his actions for a long time now and things had not worked out for the better because of it.

"We’ve all made it back this far, maybe we should re think our strategy," Asia suggested after a moment. "We've been beaten badly. Maybe we should leave. Go back to Vegeta-sei and build up our strength and numbers. Now that we know what we are up against, we can better prepare ourselves."

"I am not leaving here like some whipped dog!" Vegeta objected. "If you want to do that then be my guest. Go and take the third class clowns with you. I don’t need you slowing me down."

"Right," Raditz snorted. "Because you can win this thing all on your own."

"They want me kept alive," he admitted quietly. "Which is why you and whoever you can find left who is still alive need to leave."

"How do you know that?" Asia asked.

"One of the Androids I fought told me," he said. "It told me that their orders were to destroy everyone but for me. Cold wants me in his custody to be tried for the death of Frieza; the rest of you are nothing more than collateral damage." 

"We can't just leave you, Vegeta." Kakarott objected. "Leave with us. We can hide on Callisto and train. I can let Chi-Chi know. She can bring the gravity room with her. We can train and come back, Vegeta."

"No," Vegeta said firmly. "Now get out of here before they find all of us and destroy you too."

"But Vegeta-"

"That is a direct order, Kakarott." He growled. "I expect you to obey without question."

"You're really going to play that card, Vegeta? Right now?" He asked him in a disappointed tone.

"Yes, now get going before it is too late," he growled. "Go and see to your own mate and child."

"And what of Bulma?" He asked firmly. "How am I supposed to tell her I left you here to fall to Cold? Do you realize that you will more than likely be tried and executed for your roll in killing Frieza? And they won't give you a quick death. Cold is going to inflict as much-"

"Yes, I already know all that!" He bellowed in frustration. 

"Alright. Then how can I leave you to that?" He argued. "And how can I tell Bulma that I just left you here knowing that?"

"You grow a pair, you leave and you tell her it was a direct order from me to you that you leave!" he shouted, balling his fists in anger, not wanting to think about what this would do to Bulma once she found out. "Tell her whatever the fuck you want, I do not care. Tell her I beat you to a pulp because you were too stupid to listen to my orders and that your idiot brother brought you on the ship barely breathing which I am sorely considering at the moment being that you are wasting my time and your chance at escape over petty sentiments."

"Whatever you say then," Kakarott sighed in resignation. "Just be careful, Vegeta."

"Whatever," he growled as he turned away from the three remaining soldiers. "Just get out of here."

“Where should be go?” Raditz asked. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go back to Vegeta-sei just yet.”

Vegeta grunted, tossing Raditz the capsule containing the ship. “Take the escape pods and go; take Kakarott and Asia with you if you can find no one else out there.”

“Please come with us, my Prince.” Raditz insisted.

“No, I must stay here and finish this,” he shook his head. “I need you to leave and go to Callisto.”

“Callisto? Where’s that?” Raditz asked, frowning in confusion.

“It is a small planet about two months away in sector seven. Bulma will be there with Trunks and Tarble,” he explained quickly. “Her parents reside there. Tell the Namek guardian that I sent you, but he knows Kakarott. Bulma will be there by the time you make it there; if the Namek gives you issue ask for her. I told her already to get off of Vegeta-sei and to take the boys and go there. I do not know if she took Kakarott’s mate or not. I only told her to leave a few hours ago when things took a turn for the worst. Go there, Raditz, and protect her and Trunks. Stay there, no one will find you; not even my father if a fresh start is what you are seeking.”

“You’re absolutely _sure_ she would have taken Tarble as well?” Asia asked.

“Yes!” Vegeta shouted in irritation. “Now go!”

Raditz nodded once to his prince and turned to leave, not having to be told again. He didn’t want to end up like Nappa and everyone else. On the plus side of things, this way King Vegeta would never know that he and Asia had survived. They could leave together and make a fresh start to their lives if they wanted.

“Thank you,” Asia said, still standing there looking at Vegeta. She didn’t feel right leaving him there to suffer whatever would happen next. “Are you certain you can’t come with us?”

“Ha!” Vegeta spat. “Cold will destroy the rest of the galaxy in an effort to find me. I cannot risk putting Bulma and Trunks in danger. I will deal with Cold on my own.”

“And how will you do that on your own against all of them?” she asked him with a frown.

“I will bide my time,” he answered. “Now go! Before they notice you and hunt you down. Go and see to your son,”

“And what about your woman?” Raditz asked.

“What about her?” Vegeta repeated, he was so tired of them asking him that; like he didn’t feel bad enough that this may be it and he might never see her or his son again. Why were they continually pestering him with this, now of all times? “She should be there long before you make it there.” 

“Do I tell her anything when we get there?”

Vegeta scowled at the ground. He knew she would not be okay with his decision to remain here and allow himself to be caught and taken into captivity no matter what bullshit Kakarott and Raditz decided to tell her. However, he would rather that than leave and have Cold find her and Trunks or have Cold destroy Callisto on a whim, looking for him and then have them inadvertently destroyed. “Tell her,”

“Yes, your highness? Tell her what?” Raditz pressed.

“Tell her,” he paused a moment, trying to think of something meaningful to say but fell short. He wasn’t some wallowing imbecile. He had told her everything she needed to know and hear before he’d left. He wasn’t going to give Raditz some sappy message to relay. When he had a moment, he would tell her himself through the bond. If it came to that, which he hoped it wouldn’t. “Ah, she knows,” he spat. “Get out of here before you are discovered!”

The three remaining Saiyans nodded and carefully made their way as far away from Vegeta as possible, not flying and keeping their energies suppressed as much as possible to avoid detection from the Androids.

“I hope we can get far enough away that we can launch the escape pods without their detection,” Raditz said.

“We should leave the ship out,” Asia advised.

“What good will that do?” he asked.

“Well they won’t know about the pods unless we are caught, right? So if they find the ship, they will assume that no one is left alive,” she said. “On top of that, we should send Vegeta the coordinates of it on the off chance he makes it through this, kills Cold and needs a way out. We can send him the coordinates and he can take an escape pod as well.” 

Raditz nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. We just have to hope they don’t destroy the ship as soon as they see it if they find it.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Asia nodded. “He’s done so much for me in terms of allowing Bulma to care for Tarble in my absence. I just don’t feel right leaving him like this.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Kakarott said. He had been oddly quiet since they had left Vegeta. “Once the two of you leave, I will capsule the ship and go back to help him.”

“Good idea,” Asia agreed.

“You know he’ll kill you, right?” Raditz deadpanned.

“He’ll be more than pissed that I’m not leaving and he’ll probably threaten to,” Kakarott shrugged easily. “But he won’t, I know him. I just can’t leave him to whatever is about to happen next. I have a really bad feeling that if I don’t go, I will regret it the rest of my life. I can’t explain it, but it’s the same feeling I had telling me _not_ to stay behind on Vegeta-sei, even with Chi-Chi being pregnant and angry with me. It’s almost like I’m _meant_ to be here with him no matter the outcome and I can’t ignore it.”

Raditz looked at him long and hard, not wanting to leave his younger brother here on his own but also not wanting to outright disobey a direct order from his Prince or stay here and be killed for nothing when he had a chance at making a life for himself. “You sure about this?”

“Yea, one hundred percent.” Kakarott nodded confidently.

“Alright,” he sighed. “Just don’t get your stupid ass killed, alright? We had a hard enough time coming to terms with that the last time you decided to blindly stick by Vegeta.”

Kakarott smirked at his older brother. “Don’t you worry about me, I’ll be just fine. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I haven’t tried yet. Now that it’s down to the nitty gritty, I think it’s time to finally let loose.”

“You were holding back with those Android things?” Raditz asked dumbly.

“Uhm hmm,” Kakarott nodded with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Well, just a little.”

“What! Why?”

“I don’t know,” Kakarott shrugged, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I didn’t think it would be a good idea.”

“And why wouldn’t it?” Raditz raged at his younger brother. “Maybe it would have made all the difference of more of us making it out of here or not having to leave our Prince behind!”

“It may have and it may not have, I don’t know,” he said with a slight frown, obviously he had not considered things that way. “I wasn’t ready then but now I think I am.”

“Okay, well it doesn’t matter now,” Asia cut in. “Just do your best and get Vegeta out of here even if it means dragging him off of here kicking and screaming.”

Raditz nodded once and uncapsulated the ship. “Capsulize it and take it with you in the event you guys change your minds and bail.”

“I will, Raditz,” he nodded. “And find a way to tell Chi-Chi that I’m just fine and not to worry, alright? She will more than likely be on Vegeta-sei because I asked her to stay behind so don’t worry if she’s not there.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged. “Are you coming?” he asked Asia who looked torn between staying and leaving. Part of her wanted nothing more than to leave and disappear with Raditz. While things between them at the moment weren’t more serious than flirtation and concern for the other, she was more than curious to see what a potential future with him held. If Tarble was on this random planet they were heading to, then she would be more than happy to give it a try. Her father and the King would never have to know that she survived this massacre.

On the other hand, her left over feelings for Vegeta were nagging at her that if there was any time for him to finally give her a chance, now was that chance.

Asia held her breath and followed Raditz. What did she have to lose? At least she would be leaving with someone who wanted to pursue her rather than staying behind and possibly losing her life for someone who belonged to someone else. Either way, she would see Tarble again if she went with Raditz and that was what she based her decision on. Her son.

She followed Raditz into the ship and onto the ship deck where the emergency escape space pods were kept. Raditz activated the emergency launch sequence for them before stepping into one.

“Care to keep me company on our voyage, my dear?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“Dream on, pal!” she snorted, feigning outrage, when really she could feel her face reddening.

“Awe, come _on_!” he whined and it was so strange seeing such a big burly man like him carry on that way, even if it was only in jest. “There’s plenty of room here.”

“Oh there is, is there?” she snorted playfully, leaning in somewhat, as though actually considering his invitation. She smirked at him and lightly brushed his lips with hers experimentally. He, of course raised to the bait and kissed her back. She thought of it a moment and while it would definitely be interesting and a great way to get to know one another, she decided she could wait until they made it to their destination.

Asia slyly pushed the close button on the pod before stepping away and hopping into the adjacent pod from his, snickering in glee that she’d fooled him into thinking she would actually travel in a small space pod, designed with only one occupant in mind with him for two months.

“Hey!” he objected over the communicator, but she could tell he wasn’t all that upset.

She giggled. “Hey yourself,” she replied, strapping herself in and turning it on. “Alright, I don’t know where we are going, so I am just going to lock my pod to follow yours, alright?”

“Deceitful wench,” he deadpanned playfully and all was quiet a moment. “Alright. I found it. Vegeta was right, it’s about two months away, more or less. You ready?”

“I am,” she replied, knowing she was agreeing to a whole lot more than just getting off of and away from this disastrous mission. She pushed the launch sequence control as soon as she heard his pod beginning to fire up. Asia set it to lock onto his and sat back, bracing herself as they were launched at break neck speed into the atmosphere. She hoped they wouldn’t be noticed and shot down. That thought hadn’t occurred to her until just now and she felt panic begin to well deep in her gut. She could not die this way, she was on her way to see her son and start a new life for herself. Sure she didn’t know anything other than fighting and conducting herself in a royal court but there were other things she could succeed at in life, wasn’t there?

Asia only hoped she could trust Vegeta when he’d said that Bulma and Tarble were on their way to the same planet she and Raditz were inbound towards. She didn’t see why he would lie to her; not at a time like this. She hoped Bulma had made a clean getaway safely with Trunks and Tarble. If she didn’t, then she didn’t know what she would do 

Then there was the matter of Raditz. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that. She had accepted his affections and responded to his advances and flirtations out of desperation and loneliness. Sure she was attracted to him but what if he wasn’t the right man for her and she had just left the right one behind? She shrugged it off. She had wasted far too much time pining away for someone who couldn’t notice her and she needed to leave if she was to see her son again. She rationalized it that way and if Raditz did prove to be the right man then that would be an extra added bonus she thought with a smirk.

“We made it,” Raditz’ voice came on over the intercom. “You alright in there?”

“Yea, I’m fine. You?”

“All’s mostly well, though I am finding this space pod oddly spacious. It seems something or someone is missing.”

“Right,” she replied dryly. “Sweet dreams Raditz; I’m locked on to you and am going to activate the sleep stasis. I’m exhausted.”

“Oh, I will have the sweetest of dreams, don’t you worry,” he chuckled, doing the same.

Asia smirked as she almost immediately felt the effects of the sleep aid filtering through the air take hold of her. Her last thoughts were of looking forward to seeing Tarble soon after she woke up where she would never have to see her father or King Vegeta hopefully ever again.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta had made his way back to where he had found Kakarott only a little while earlier, not far from Cold’s base. He stood there, proud as he watched the Androids approach him. He knew they wouldn't kill him and their plan was to take him to Cold now that he was the only one left but he was determined to make them work for his capture. He had asked that they spare his men and they hadn't. So why should he make his capture easy on them? 

He powered up as he waited for them, watching them carefully and trying to devise a plan of attack, though nothing was coming to mind. He decided it didn't matter. They would eventually wear him down and take him back with them one way or another. He had just resigned himself to making that as difficult as possible. Why should he surrender to _them_?

"Are you ready to come with us, Prince Vegeta?" the Android asked. 

"Not quite," he smirked. 

"You realize that the only orders we have are to bring you back alive," the Android said. "So we can inflict as much damage on you and use as much force as necessary to bring you in. So long as you are alive, Cold doesn't really care."

"I can hardly wait," Vegeta snorted. "If you want me, then you will have to _work_ and _earn_ that honor."

"I thought you had said that you would come willingly?" It reminded him.

"That was before you needlessly killed all of my men. The deal was if you let them go, I would come willingly. You failed to comply so that end of the deal is off."

"Very well," It shrugged in a bored tone once again reminding Vegeta so much of Frieza that he felt an extra rush of adrenaline and general dislike course through his veins. "I only thought you would appreciate the option to come peacefully."

"You are nothing more than a machine. What would you know about what I would like or dislike or appreciate? You don't feel emotions."

"That is true," It agreed. "Emotions themselves are foreign to me. However the words behind them I am able to comprehend and understand somewhat. Etiquette dictates that it is acceptable for me to give you the option of coming with us willfully rather than beating you down."

"I see," Vegeta snorted. "And did your creator give you any insight on me? If he had, you would know that the only willful act I would go along with where the Ice-jin are concerned is destroying each and every last one of them."

"Very well, my Prince." It nodded. "I will give you your wish. I can promise you will regret it." 

Vegeta snickered. "Do you think I am afraid of you and your horde of metal implements?"

"Afraid? No, clearly you are not and that is to your own detriment I am afraid."

"Let us get on with it," Vegeta growled, floating up from the ground, ready to do some damage. “Let’s see what you and your tin cans are _really_ capable of.”

The Android smiled at him, his red eyes gleaming. “It’s about time,” It agreed, raising up into the air and making his way forward to meet Vegeta somewhere in the middle. 

Vegeta knew the Android was faster and stronger than him so he needed to find a way to out think it and wear its energy down. If he could take this one down, he was fairly certain he could slowly whittle down the rest of them. Maybe he would be able to take a quick break and then pay Cold a visit.

He hadn’t kept Frieza’s head as a trophy, much to his regret now. This Android, who Vegeta had decided was their leader or commander looked more like Frieza than the rest of them and he figured that it had been specifically designed that way. The rest of the Androids looked like Frieza in his last form, but they varied somewhat in markings and were plain. This one, resembled him perfectly in his last form. From the markings to even the voice. If Vegeta hadn’t thought any better, he would have sworn this Android was Frieza brought back to life.

In any case, he chuckled at the thought of destroying this Android and bringing its head to Cold as a little greeting gift. Sure it wasn’t Frieza’s head, but it was the next best thing and would have to do. He only hoped he had enough strength and endurance left to do it. Now that he had calmed down, the tiredness and exhaustion was beginning to set in.

Vegeta launched himself towards it as quickly as he could. He hadn’t forgotten that it had told him he was _predictable_. So he decided to try something _un_ predictable. 

Instead of attacking him head on, he weaved and phased in and out, back and forth as fast as he could, hoping to confuse it. Instead of attacking the Frieza-look-a-like, he set for one of its minions behind it and when he was close enough, swung his arm out in a chopping motion as hard as he could, swiping its head off in one swift motion before it had a chance to react.

He smirked in satisfaction as the rest of it fell to the ground. “Who’s next?” he asked gleefully, ready for anything.

“I am!” came Kakarott’s voice from the distance. 

Vegeta turned around to look to see if that was who he had thought he’d heard or if he was going insane, sure enough there was his First Lieutenant, whom he had thought and expected to be long gone by now.

He turned away from the androids and sped out to meet him. “What are you _doing_ here?” he snarled at him between grit teeth, trying to keep his tone discreet despite his outrage that Kakartt not only had the audacity to not obey his order to leave but then show up here against his wishes.

“I’m here to help you,” Kakarott replied casually. “You’re not going to win against all of these androids. It’s suicide, Vegeta.”

“It is not!” Vegeta snarled at him. “I _know_ I cannot win! Do you think I am a compete idiot? You were told to leave! That was a direct order!”

“I get that and I’m sorry for not following your orders, Vegeta.” Kakarott shrugged. “But I didn’t feel right just ditching you. Raditz and Asia are gone, they left and are on their way to Callisto. I have the ship on me, I’m going to help you with the androids and with Cold and then we’ll get out of here; _together_.”

Vegeta growled. “No, no, no. You do not get it!”

“What’s there to get, Vegeta?” Kakarott asked with a shrug. “We’ll get through this, together like we always do.”

“No! That’s just it!” Vegeta replied with clenched teeth trying to contain his rage and keep his voice down, ever mindful that the androids were just several feet away watching this scene. “You are not supposed to be here. That is the point of all of this, these androids. Why I busted my ass to get as many out as I could! Cold wants me. That’s it. _Me_. Not my army, not a few Saiyan hostages, me. That was his whole plan all along; his and my father’s. I am to be defeated and humiliated in battle and then taken to Cold where I will more than likely be tried and then executed.”

"Hmm. Dissention among the ranks it would seem," the Android sneered at them. "I will let you two iron out your issues for a few minutes but I am afraid it will make no difference."

“I know that,” Kakarott nodded, ignoring the Android and its remarks. “I am here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“And that decision will now cost you your life, you stupid clown!” Vegeta spat. “I am not going to die out here. I will fight until I am unable and then be taken in. They are under direct order to slay everyone but for me. So far that is exactly what has happened. Why is it you think I am not injured? How many of these androids did I destroy? Some may have been a challenge, but none have actually harmed me.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“No, you fool!” Vegeta insisted. “You will die here and now if you do not get out of here. They will leave me alone and kill you. Cold does not want hostages, he only wants me.”

“Then let’s make him work for _you_.” Kakarott nodded confidently.

“That was what I was doing before you showed up!”

"It will be fine, Vegeta," he said casually brushing off Vegeta's angry rants. "That was before there were two Super Saiyans."

Vegeta scowled at him. "What do you mean _two_ Super Saiyans?" 

Kakarott smirked knowingly at him and then let himself go, releasing wave upon wave of energy as he let himself transform into the exact same golden god-like state that up until now no one except for Vegeta had been able to achieve. 

 "You, you ascended." Vegeta commented dumbly as he looked at Kakarott in his ascended state and took in this information. "When did this happen?"

"A few days before we left to come here," Kakarott answered. "That's why I insisted on coming with you instead of hanging back. I am more use to you here than back home."

Vegeta nodded. On one hand he was angry that Kakarott had kept this from him, in a way it felt like betrayal; and it picked at him that his third class companion had achieved something that he thought unique to _only_ himself. There was never a precedent for two Super Saiyans at one time ever in history. Only one. And it was so elusive that it only seemed to happen once every one thousand years or so; it was an anomaly exclusive _only_ to the royal line, not something that was attainable to just any Saiyan no matter how talented or skilled he or she was on the battlefield.

Instead of being angry about it now, however he brushed off any feelings of animosity and accepted this new and very unexpected development. All that mattered was that he may have a chance at beating these things together and then face Cold the way he had intended. It now made sense why Kakarott had kept up so well since they had started this losing battle against the Androids. 

Yes Raditz and Asia had also made it but just barely. Vegeta knew from looking at Raditz that he had barely been hanging in there. If he had insisted he stay he didn't think he would have lasted against one more android. And he didn't even take note of Asia's condition when they parted ways.

"You should have told me this sooner you fool." Was all he said and truthfully it was the main thing bothering him at the moment. He didn't have time to be angry or ponder the reasons why Kakarott had been able to ascend. At this moment it didn't matter and it was possibly the only chance he had right now at not being taken captive to Cold. "How long can you maintain the transformation for?" He asked. 

"Not sure, I haven't really had much time to see what I'm really capable of. So far I can hang onto it for a while, it’s not that difficult."

Vegeta clenched his teeth in annoyance. It had taken him weeks to be able to figure out how to channel his energy properly and be able to maintain his transformed state. Here Kakarott had not only broken the barrier but claimed that he could maintain it easily. "You really should have let me know about this while we were on our way here; we could have worked on it together. You may have ascended but if you can only maintain it for a few minutes here and there then it is of no help to me."

"Stop worrying, Vegeta." Kakarott said. "We've got this. Now what is our strategy?"

"The one in the middle, who looks like Frieza is in charge," Vegeta replied; he may be annoyed with Kakarott for showing up to help him and even more upset over his ascension but none of that mattered now. "I have fought with him already. He is faster and stronger than the rest."

"Vegeta, they all kind of look like Frieza." Kakarott pointed out.

"I know that but that one looks the _most_ like him! Does he not look distinctly different from the others to you?"

"I guess you're right, now that you mention it."

Vegeta rolled his eyes in irritation. "Alright. Now that we have established that, I think it is best we take out the rest of them first and then take on the stronger one together. If you can manage to hang onto your transformation that long."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Kakarott shrugged confidently. "I won't quit if you don't."

"Hmmmn, we shall see." Vegeta smirked, at this point anxious to see what Kakarott was capable of and hoping he wasn’t being over confident. "You take the ones on the left and I will take the ones right."

"Sounds good!" he agreed and the two Saiyans took off in either direction to destroy as many androids as possible. 

They did just that; destroying each and every single one that they came across. For some they worked together as a matter of efficiency and for others they were able to destroy them on their own. It seemed that no all of them were made equal, Vegeta thought to himself. 

He checked in on Kakarott who still was managing to keep up to him and maintain his Super Saiyan transformation and he wondered _how_ he was able to do it? Sure he was able as well, but it took him a long time to build up to that kind of endurance. He had to make sure to find out from Kakarott exactly how he had managed this. 

As he went in to attack another android that was giving Kakarott a hard time, he was grabbed by the arm by one passing by and it would not let go of him. He snarled at it, trying to get loose but it had a strong hold on him. “Let _go_ , you piece of shit!”

The android chuckled at him and only tightened its grip and managed to flip Vegeta around, twisting his arm so hard he heard a crack. He winced in pain, unsure if it was his arm or shoulder that had given out. Either way, it was not good. 

When the android dropped him into the snow, he wasted no time going back after it in a blinding rage. He grabbed its tail and an arm and ripped both clean off of it. Vegeta smirked as he watched it short out and fall back onto the ground.

Vegeta and Kakarott continued on at that grueling pace for what felt like hours to them both. Finally, the only Android that remained was the “leader”. It kept its place in the air, glaring at the two Saiyans as they plopped themselves into the snow and tiredly let their transformations go for a moment.

The Android looked at its fallen warriors in disgust and pressed a button on its arm, initializing for the rest of the android warriors waiting in the base to be activated. He had been sure they would not be needed, but it had been wrong, obviously.

"You alright, Vegeta?" Kakarott asked Vegeta, winded and sore. He knew if they remained idle too long he would not be able to stand up and fight, never mind even move. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to take a rest.

"Yea," He grunted. "You?"

"I'm hanging in there," He sighed, not wanting to admit how bad off he really was. "This was a whole lot harder than we thought, huh?"

Vegeta didn't say anything. He just nursed his sore ribs and dislocated shoulder. _This isn't good._ He thought in despair as his arm and shoulder sagged despite him holding it in place. He suspected that his collar bone was fractured as well. 

"Well, it’s been nice knowing you, Vegeta." Kakarott chuckled. As a new batch of about twenty or so fresh android robots came out of Cold's base, making Vegeta's heart sink in despair; how many of these blasted things were there?!

"Shut up!" he snarled, though he had a sinking feeling that this _would_ be it. He wouldn't even possibly get the chance to face Cold if they kept up at this pace. He was tiring, his body ached all over and the Androids were coming back harder at him than initially. Perhaps he had underestimated their desire to leave him unharmed. No matter, he would rather die out here in battle, honorably than in a cold, dank cell, tortured to death and helpless to defend himself. There was no honor in that.

“Are you ready?” Vegeta asked his companion as he stood up despite his bode objecting.

“Yea,” Kakarott winced.

“I told you to get out of here,” Vegeta growled again under his breath.

“I know,” he sighed. “But if the rolls were reversed, would you leave me?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes at him. “What does that matter?”

“You know you wouldn’t leave me to this, Vegeta. I know it and you know it.” he smirked at Vegeta’s aloof demeanor.

“Well I would not want to go back and inform that screeching harpy you call a mate that I left her stupid clown of a mate behind to fend for himself,” he grudgingly admitted, knowing full well that Kakarott was right. If things had been reversed, he would have not have left Kakarott to suffer defeat alone and while this angered him, mostly because he did not want to see, dare he say best _friend_ die because of him; he was thankful that Kakarott was with him. If anyone would have been able to help him turn this cluster fuck of a battle around, it was Kakarott. They had done it before and so far, it looked like they would do it again.

“Ha! I knew it!” Kakarott gloated childishly. “Raditz said you’d kill me for coming to help you.”

“I considered it,” Vegeta deadpanned, not liking to be reminded that his First Lieutenant had so carelessly brushed off obeying a direct order. “And I still might after all of this is done.”

“Come on, Vegeta; be mad later, alright?”

“We will discuss it at a later time,” he agreed, watching the androids carefully for any sign of a premature ambush on them.

“You and I grew up together, Vegeta. We’ve been through everything together too. We’ve helped each other out through good and bad, gotten each other out of more scrapes than I can remember,” Kakarott said seriously. “I just want you to know that no matter how this pans out today, I’m not sorry for coming here when I should have stayed behind and I’m not sorry for disobeying your orders when you told me to leave." 

“Enough with the useless sentiments, you fool!” Vegeta snapped at him. “Get ready, we will need to be focused again in the matter of moments.”

“Oh, I’m ready, Vegeta. Don’t you worry about me, I’m just fine,” Kakarott replied, transforming back into the golden yellow Super Saiyan state. “I just want to tell you in case I don’t get the chance that I am honored to be your First Lieutenant and I know we as Saiyans don’t have friends, but I still consider you my _friend_. I would follow you and fight at your side to the end of the universe and back if you wanted me to and so I want to thank you for giving me that opportunity to do that with you.”

"Enough!” Vegeta snarled, not wanting to even consider that things may not work out in their favor. So far, Kakarott’s help had been a blessing and as much as he did not want to admit it, he was glad he hadn’t listened to his command and he was glad that he had ascended. If anyone else in his race deserved it, he could not think of anyone else, other than himself of course, more worthy to yield that kind of power than Kakarott. “Get your head in focus and stop spewing ridiculous sentiments! You are a warrior, not a fucking poet!”

“I love you too, Vegeta,” he grinned, “On our way back, we should spar and maybe you can teach me how to manage this ascension thing better, it’s really exhausting.”

Vegeta ignored the over the top sentiment and nodded once. “You should have told me before we got here. We had three weeks, we could have worked on it. Think of how many more could have left if you hadn’t kept it from me.”

“Yea, sorry about that, I didn’t think about that possibility. I thought you’d be mad when you found out." he admitted.

Vegeta nodded in response, he probably would have been mad. Hell, he had been mad even when Kakarott had shown him and they were in the middle of the biggest ass kicking the Saiyan race had ever gotten! However common sense had kicked in and he let that over rule his pride. “If anyone deserves the power of ascension, it is you.” Was all he said, not wanting to admit to his own selfish pride having been bruised by this development. Now was not the time.

“How many of these tin cans are you going to dispatch before your circuits compute that no matter what you do, you are no match for two Super Saiyans?” Vegeta shouted arrogantly as the newly dispatched androids began to move into their designated formations. “I mean you weren’t even a match for one, but _two_ Super Saiyans! You androids are far out of your league and Kakarott and I are going to turn this embarrassment around.”

The Android smirked in response. “A bit over confident, are we?” It replied.

“Let’s do this,” Vegeta said to Kakarott, powering up.

Without waiting for them to finish getting themselves into proper battle formation, they took off after them, the thrill of battle the only thing keeping them going at this point, they were both injured and exhausted by this time. They each targeted the same one, dismantling it and destroying at ease before moving to the next one, which was not an easy task being that they were much faster than them, especially now that they both were beginning to feel the effects of battle that they had endured all day.

They spun one android into a high snow bank and continued to pummel its counterpart violently as they tried to grab onto a limb to seize and rip off, it, however, took on the physical blows and managed to keep its limbs free from their clutches. 

What they hadn’t counted on was the other android they had thrown into the bank. After the last blow, it hadn’t returned to fight. It had, instead hung back and observed, waiting for an opportunity to seize its advantage. It launched itself up into the air and wrapped itself around Kakarott completely.

Vegeta tried to get in to assist, but was stopped by three of the others, grabbing hold of him. “Get off!” he snarled as he felt his energy level being quickly depleted. He could tell from the look on Kakarott’s face that he was experiencing the same thing.

“That’s it,” the Android shrugged nonchalantly as It watched them. “It’s all over.”

Vegeta glared at It a moment before he understood what It meant. “No!” he screamed as he looked at Kakarott in panic. He frantically tried to get himself out of the hold of the three androids but it was no use.

For a moment the two Saiyans made brief eye contact. It was only less than a second in duration, but an understanding and acceptance passed between them in that split second moment before the android that was wrapped around Kakarott self-destructed, destroying itself and Kakarott completely.

As soon as the smoke and debris settled and revealed that there was nothing left of both Kakarott and the android, the three androids holding onto Vegeta let him go.

Vegeta floated down slowly back to the ground as overwhelming shock and grief took over his every thought and took hold of his very soul right then.

He let himself sink lower and lower towards the ground. He was so distracted and distraught as what had just happened began to sink in. He didn't even notice when his feet touched the ground; his knees buckled beneath him and he found himself slumped in the freezing snow in defeat and despair. He could barely breathe he was so consumed with grief and rage for what they had done to Kakarott.

He sat there for what felt like an eternity before the Android floated in front of him. It stood tall and straight, its arms crossed, legs together and its tail draped delicately in front of it. It looked positively regal and beautiful and perfect. It regarded him with a cool look of disdain and hidden amusement over his absolute loss. Being that it was made in Friezas image, Vegeta knew that look well: It was over for him.

"Are you finished playing games yet?" It asked in a bored tone. "I really wish you would just come quietly with us, but suit yourself."

Vegeta shot it a hateful look before launching a fist at it. Unfortunately it caught his fist, grabbed it and twisted his arm while swiftly kicking him in the gut.

He held back a howl of pain as he felt the bone of his shoulder give out for good this time. He wheezed as the wind was knocked out of him and he was unable to breath. 

"How about now?" It asked, leaning over his hunched form as he tried to get air into his lungs.

"Fuck you." He whispered under his breath.

It chuckled as it looked down at him, forcing him to the ground onto his knees as it continued to bear its full weight on him; which in Vegeta’s current worn out state was more than he could support. Dread washed over him as feeling of deja-vu hit him hard. He had been in this very similar predicament once before with Frieza. He hoped this Android had not been given the deceased lizard lord’s memories or appetites and subconsciously tightened his tail around his waist as tightly as he could.

Instead of reaching for the appendage, however, it laid its other hand on his other shoulder and he knew exactly what the Android meant to do the moment he felt himself hit with extreme exhaustion _. It wasn’t fair,_ he told himself. “You are no warrior,” he whispered to it as he tried to fight succumbing to the tiredness threatening to claim victory over him.

It chuckled at him gleefully at his defeat. “You were given the opportunity to come willingly.”

“And if you knew anything about Saiyan warriors, you would know that option is not an option at all,” he replied, trying to stay awake. His eyelids were heavy, his head felt even heavier, hell everything felt heavy. Both his arms were throbbing, his shoulder with the broken collarbone was burning in excruciating pain, yet all he wanted to do was sleep. If he slept, all of that would go away and maybe he could regain his strength back and destroy these horrible things. _No!_ He told himself _You cannot give out. It is over the moment you give in and fall asleep!_

“That’s _right_ ,” It agreed. “I was programmed with the background knowledge of how stupid your race really is; how you would rather suffer and die horribly rather than accept defeat by your enemy and live to fight another day. I wonder, did some of your men see and feel the glory at their own deaths? Being ripped to shreds easily and left to die out in the cold. Sounds _glorious_ to me,” It mocked sarcastically. “You don’t think in the afterlife they are not cursing you right now for your foolish campaign? That they are waiting for you to slip into the other side so that they may mock and degrade you for even thinking you could win this?”

“Shut up!” Vegeta snarled.

“Such a pitiful waste,” It continued on. “And now you are brought to nothing. No men or allies on your side. In the matter of minutes you will pass out from sheer exhaustion, yes I am full well aware that you are fighting that tooth and nail; I can _feel_ it. Your stubbornness, but you will fail and I will bring you back with me and you _won’t_ miss your appointment with Cold, so not to worry. Neither will your mate.”

Vegeta had for the most part drowned him out, trying to concentrate all his efforts in not letting the tiredness get the better of him. However the mentioning of the word _mate_ brought him out of his haze. “She is of no concern to any of you,” he replied.

 “I do not know why she is a factor in all of this, but it is my understanding that she and your child are to be delivered here to Cold and my creator upon your defeat.” It said nonchalantly.

Vegeta chuckled at it. _There is no way,_ he told himself. He had given Bulma enough time to make an escape. She would be long gone by now and no one would have any clue as to where she had gone. At least he had succeeded in something and that gave him great comfort right then.

“What is so funny?” the Android asked quizzically as Vegeta began to laugh almost maniacally at It.

“Oh, nothing,” he replied between fits of laughter. “Just that Cold never thought that I did not prepare myself or make plans in the event that I may fail. They will _never_ see Cold. I have sought to it.”

The Android glared at him but did not reply. It made note to notify Cold of the possibility as soon as it could. In the meantime, it still had to subdue Vegeta and that was now taking a whole lot more time that It had anticipated. 

Vegeta wanted to reach out to Bulma and let her know that he had failed. He wanted to know that she had gotten off Vegeta-sei safely with Trunks, that she was currently on her way to Callisto where they would be safe and to let her know that Raditz and Asia were going to be joining her as well. He assumed she would have taken Tarble with her. He had given her enough notice that she should have been able to pack them both up and be long gone by now. He hoped anyway. 

He didn't reach out, however. As much as he wanted and _needed_ that reassurance and confirmation of her safety. His shame was so great that he didn't think he could face telling her that he had no idea when or _if_ he would see her or Trunks again. He may not ever make it out but at least he had given her plenty of time to leave and that was the only comforting thought he had at the moment as he felt himself beginning to slip in and out of consciousness as the Android continued to drain every ounce of his energy and within a few moments he gave into exhaustion and passed out completely.

"My, that was a little more than disappointing." the Android snorted. He picked Vegeta up by the scruff of his armor, ready to deliver him to Cold. "Make sure there is no one left alive and lurking around. If there is, get rid of them and destroy whatever is left of their ship, if you happen to come across it."

The remaining androids left to do as asked and It made its way into the base to meet with Cold and Gero with his prize.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: A GINORMOUS thank you to Dragonbabezee for taking the time to beta this chapter for me! Honestly, I’d still be sitting here agonizing over it for another week if she hadn’t been so kind as to offer up some suggestions and fix my silly errors. And be sure to check out her latest fic Never Ever Land if you haven’t already! I absolutely love and respect her work- it’s all clever, fun and original! I can’t say enough good things. Seriously- Check out her works. You won’t be disappointed.

**_Chapter 16_**  

Chi-Chi bolted upright in her bed. It was still dark out, Goten was still asleep. She could not catch her breath as her heart rate skyrocketed to an alarming rate and she felt a horrible pain from inside, as though something was being ripped from her. She looked around her and realized that she was sitting in drenched sheets and her first thought was that it was blood and she was losing her baby.

She had dreamt of blood. Blood and limbs everywhere. She wasn’t sure who they belonged to, but she remembered it vividly now and a cold, harsh weave of fear gripped the deepest depth of her soul. This was not normal.

As her senses began to come together, she realized it wasn’t her stomach or abdomen that was in pain, but it was more localized to her chest and head and the feeling of dread and hopelessness began to overtake her. She crawled out of bed and turned on the light, confirming her instincts that she hadn’t lost her baby, not yet anyway. Maybe this was what happened before her body rejected it?

Chi-Chi stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on her face in an effort to cool herself down. Maybe it had just been her dreams that had her feeling so out of it. She reached out for Kakarott, wanting to be reassured that he was alright and felt but felt nothing except her pounding headache getting worse the more she tried to reach out to him. After a few more attempts of gaining absolutely nothing back from him she began to panic.

“I need help!” she cried as she fell to the floor, feeling dizzy and disoriented and in a tremendous amount of pain all through her body, she couldn’t even tell where it was originating from anymore.

“What is it?” Penelope asked, running into the bathroom a few moments later, kneeling beside her. She still looked sleepy and Chi-Chi felt bad for disturbing her sleep. “Are you alright? What is wrong?” she asked urgently, taking in the girl’s damp pallor.

“I don’t know!” she cried, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. “I woke up soaking wet and dizzy and in pain.”

Penelope frowned and examined her as discreetly as possible. The baby’s ki was somewhat distressed, but not in danger from what she could tell.

“Am I losing my baby?” she asked in panic.

“I don’t think so, no,” she shook her head, looking curiously at Bardock who had gotten up as well to see what the commotion was. “It is distressed, but that is because you are in distress.”

“I can’t feel him,” she cried. “I tried, it’s like he’s gone!”

“Who, Kakarott?” Bardock asked.

“Yes, Kakarott! Who else?” she screeched.

Bardock and Penelope looked at each other a moment, both thinking and dreading the same thought that something had happened to not only their beloved son whom they had only just recently gotten back but their older son as well.

“Are you sure?” Penelope asked, focusing her attention back on Chi-Chi who had begun bawling almost hysterically by this point.

“Yes!” she cried. “Oh, god, it hurts so much! What am I going to do? He can’t be gone, he can’t!”

“Maybe he’s just been severely injured and is unconscious?” Bardock offered hopefully. “Neither Raditz or Vegeta would leave him there to die if he is injured.”

“What if they’re dead too?” Chi-Chi sobbed hopelessly. “Kakarott told me a few hours ago that Vegeta told Bulma to go because things weren’t going well.”

“Did he say anything else specifically?” Penelope asked, trying to calm her down.

“Just that he didn’t know yet how things were going to work out and if Bulma contacted me to leave with her that he wanted me to stay here with you guys,” she sniffed. “Oh, god.. I knew he wasn’t telling me how bad it really was. I knew it!”

“It’s alright, it will be alright, dear,” Penelope said soothingly to her, also trying to reassure herself. “I understand it’s easier said than done at the moment but you need to calm down. Too much distress will endanger your baby; your stress combined with the possible loss of a mate and bond may trigger you to miscarry, we do not want that.”

“I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this…” she kept saying, not hearing the woman’s council.

Bardock stood there silently, watching the scene unfold. He hoped that she was wrong, that it was something else causing her this distress but deep down he knew that it was true. A bond didn't lie. He only hoped that she wouldn’t go into a state of shock and lose her baby and her life own over this.

Without a word, he turned away from Chi-Chi and his mate, unable to address the issue at the moment. Not only was it likely that he had lost both of his son's but now they would have to help his daughter-in-law through the loss and raise two children; not that he minded. Both Bardock and Penelope adored Chi-Chi and accepted her as one of their own. However it would be difficult for them to both grieve and help her as well. Especially since the girl was much more emotional than they as Saiyans were.

"Where are you going?" Penelope asked him, leaving Chi-Chi a moment to talk with her mate. 

"To the palace," he answered. "I will get her a sedative that will hopefully help keep her calm and I will see what I can find out about what has happened with Prince Vegeta’s campaign. If they have fallen, I am certain the King will know by now.”

“Alright,” she nodded, turning back to the sobbing girl a few feet away. **_I really hope he is just severely injured and nothing more. I don’t think I can go through this again, Bardock. And what of Raditz?_**

 ** _I know,_** he replied, having thought the same thing already. It had been difficult enough mourning Kakarott the first time. **_I will try and find out what I can. Hopefully not all is lost and hopefully Bulma got out of here. If Vegeta has been defeated, she will no longer be safe here._**

**_She would not stick around, would she?_ **

**_No, she wouldn’t,_** Bardock shook his head. **_Vegeta made arrangements so that she may be able to escape on a moment’s notice should the unthinkable happen. If anyone understands his seriousness in her safety, it would be her._**

“Alright, good. Please keep me informed of anything you hear and I will try to keep her calm.” Penelope said, offering him a half smile.

Bardock nodded. “I will hurry.” He mumbled before leaving as quickly as he could. He needed some air and he needed his space. If the worst was indeed the case, he was not sure how he would cope with not one but two grieving females and a half-Saiyan toddler.

-0-0-0-

With their room practically bare, Bulma leashed up Aro and finally left their room cautiously. There were no guards at her door and none down the hall by Tarble’s room. _That has to be a good sign,_ she thought to herself. She quickly closed the door and sprinted to Tarble’s room, letting herself in as she usually did.

“You’re early today,” Neesa greeted her.

“Yea, I couldn’t sleep,” she said nervously. “Can I leave Trunks and Aro here for a few minutes?”

“Of course,” she nodded. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she nodded. “I just need to finish something at the lab quick for Bardock and then I’m taking the boys out for a little while.”

“No problem, I’ll be here until you get back,” Neesa said, taking Trunks and placing him down with Tarble.

“Great. Thanks!” Bulma nodded. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” She said, leaving quickly and racing down the palace halls, thankful that there seemed to be no one around to see her and draw attention to herself. She hadn’t been up and about this early in the palace before and wondered why there were no guards situated about.

She didn’t dwell on it very long, thanking her lucky stars that the palace was mostly deserted. It would make it that much easier for her to sneak both of the boys out of the palace and take off in her own ship, which she had on her. She quickly made her way down to the science wing, hoping that Bardock would be there already. She hoped he may be able to contact Chi-Chi quickly and find out if she wanted to come too.

Bulma entered the science wing quietly, closing the door carefully behind her. “Bardock?” she whispered hoarsely, looking around. It was dark and the lights were out. “Damn it!” she cursed.

She switched on a light and decided since he wasn’t there to settle on writing him a quick note letting him know that she’d taken the boys and gone to her parents; just so he wouldn’t worry. She wouldn’t say where just in case someone else found the note but he could always find that out from Chi-Chi.

Bulma grabbed a pen and paper and quickly began writing out a note for him. As she was deciding where to leave it where he would see it as soon as he came in, she heard the lab doors open and she froze.

Taking a deep breath, she peeked around the corner hoping it was just Bardock, after all, she had never seen anyone else here in the lab before. She moved carefully and quietly, keeping herself hidden and to her relief saw that it was none other than Bardock who had come in.

“Bardock!” she hissed, coming out of hiding and racing up to him. “Thank god I found you!”

“Bulma?” he frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I have to go,” she said quickly. “Things have gone bad, Vegeta said I have to leave now with the boys. I wanted to find you first to let you know and-”

“Why are you still here then?” he asked her harshly. “I already know things have gone bad. Kakarott was killed not an hour ago.”

“What?” Bulma cried, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. “Oh no, Vegeta never told me that. He just said-”

“You need to get out of here, now!” Bardock insisted. “Before his father knows that the mission was a failure and comes after you, you know your safety will no longer be guaranteed.”

“I know, I just wanted to let you know where I went so you wouldn’t worry,” she explained, her stomach feeling nauseous at the news about Kakarott. “And I wanted you to let Chi-Chi know and find out if she wanted to stay here or come with me?”

“Just go!” he growled. “How long have you been here? If Vegeta told you to go, you should be gone! We all knew the possibility. Quit wasting time and go! Your friend will be just fine here. Penelope and I will look after her.”

Bulma nodded. “I know she’ll be fine with you, I just didn’t want to leave and have you guys worry. Oh, god, I can’t believe Kakarott-!”

“Forget grieving!” He snapped harshly at her. “Now get out of here before it’s too late. If Vegeta gave you the heads up to leave, then you should have been gone the moment he told you, not wasting time here over foolish sentiments!”

She swallowed back a lump in her throat, knowing that he was entirely right. If Vegeta knew she’d wasted the last two hours getting things ready to go and trying to let Bardock and Chi-Chi know of her plans he would throttle her.

“Okay,” she said, switching off her plasma pendant and stepping forward to give Bardock a quick hug. “Thanks for everything; I am so sorry about Kakarott, please tell Chi-Chi I’m sorry for ditching but Vegeta says I have to go.”

Bardock awkwardly hugged her back a moment, not entirely understanding the sentiment behind the action but knew it was something both she and her friend did. “You need to go,” he said, gently pushing her away. “Be safe.”

“I will, thanks Bardock,” she said, stepping away from him and making her way towards the doors. She needed to hurry back to her boys and get off this planet. She had just reached the doors when three Saiyan guards walked in through the doors just as she was about to leave, stopping her.

“You are under arrest by order of the King.” One of them informed her, grabbing her arm.

“What?” Bulma and Bardock both exclaimed at the same time.

“On what charges?” Bardock asked, stepping forward. “What is it she has supposedly done that merits being arrested?”

“Treason, corruption, and conspiracy against the throne,” one of the guards replied, reading off of a piece of paper.

“I haven’t done any of those things!” Bulma objected.

“That is not for you to dispute,” the guard said, taking a hold of both her arms securely, making sure she couldn’t get away. “You are to come with us for questioning.”

“No,” she cried. _This can’t be happening,_ she told herself. She needed to think her way out this and get out of here. “This is a mistake; I haven’t don’t anything wrong.”

“We need you to come with us for questioning,” he said again, dragging her out of the lab roughly.

“Wait!” Bardock shouted after them. “There has to be some mistake. Bulma has been under my direct supervision and has not done any of these things.”

“Then perhaps you need to be brought in for questioning as well for aiding her efforts in her attempt to bring down the crown?” The guard asked.

“This is ridiculous!” Bardock roared in offence. “I have been a faithful servant all my life to my king!”

“Then you will understand why she must be removed and taken in for questioning, Bardock,” one of the other guards said. “Failure to comply on your part will result in your arrest for treason in aiding this slave in her attempt to over throw the king.”

“And you honestly believe that?” he challenged them.

“That is not for us to decide, Bardock,” the guard replied, stepping forward and placing himself between Bulma and Bardock. “Step aside or risk arrest.”

“Its fine, Bardock,” Bulma said to him. “This is my fault for not leaving sooner. Don’t get yourself into trouble over it.”

Bardock snarled, sizing up the guards. He may not be an elite, but he could handle his own. These three weren’t all that strong, which was why they were chosen with the task of collecting Bulma. He powered up a ki ball and shot it towards one of them before they had a chance to react, hitting him right in the head.

Bulma screamed as she saw the body fall next to her. In the shock of the attack, the guard that had her restrained loosened his grip on her enough that she was able to break free from him.

Bardock reached for her and grabbed her arm, yanking her roughly behind him. “We need to get you out of here,” he said. “Get out of my way!” he snarled at the remaining two guards who were blocking their way out of the lab.

“Are you out of your mind, Bardock?” One of the guards yelled. “What are you doing!”

“Walk away and say you could not find her,” he said quietly, not wanting to cause any more of a scene than need be over this. He knew he would be in deep trouble but maybe he could collect his own family and leave the planet before anyone found out. He could meet Bulma wherever it was Vegeta had instructed her to go. “That is all you need to do. You and I know full well that this is all an excuse so that the king can be rid of her in Prince Vegeta’s absence, she is not guilty of anything other than staying here longer than she should have.”

“We can’t do that,” the guard who’d first had Bulma argued.

“Come with us,” Bardock offered with a sly smirk. “Your Prince will reward you handsomely for your part in keeping his mate safe and out of harm’s way.”

“Our Prince has fallen at the hands of Cold by now,” the guard snorted. “Everyone knows that.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Bulma confidently corrected him. “I would know.”

The guard glared at her.

“Please, just let me go. I’ll never come back here,” she pleaded. “Let me take my son and we will go and you will never see or hear from us ever again.”

“The King offered you ample opportunity to leave,” he shook his head, powering up a ki ball in his hand. “Yet you chose to remain here and conspire against him.”

“I haven’t conspired with anyone!” she objected. “What evidence do you have that I have supposedly been conspiring against him?”

“That information is classified,” the guard replied, stepping forward threateningly towards Bardock.

“Stay back,” Bardock warned, another ki ball forming in his hand. “I don’t want to, but will kill you to keep her safe.”

“Pity,” the guard shrugged before throwing a ki ball of his own at Bardock.

Bardock defected it and fired back at both of them, all the while trying to make sure Bulma was safely kept behind him.

“Stop!” Bulma shouted at them. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt!”

She wasn’t sure if it was three or four more guards that showed up, ambushing Bardock. Bulma kept herself backed into a corner so as to not get in Bardock’s way. She was looking around for something, anything that she could use as a weapon but there wasn’t anything in the lab that would be of much use to her.

As the fight got that much more intense, she slowly began inching her way over towards the door, hoping that just maybe she could sneak out while they were all distracted. She chanced a look over at Bardock and was shocked; he seemed to have the upper hand advantage as he was pummeling the guard who had initially grabbed her. She wasn’t shocked that he was winning, she was just shocked over all to see him fighting and looking so angry. He was normally so calm and gentle; truthfully until this very moment she had never pictured him in battle.

Bulma continued to slowly move closer to the door when she heard Bardock roar. She stopped and turned to look at him. Somehow, two of the guards had managed to get a hold of him and she could not tell what exactly happened but it looked like he had been mortally wounded by a ki blast. All she saw was Bardock covered in blood.

“No!” she screamed as he fell to the floor. She tried to run to him but was grabbed by one of the guards. “Help him!”

“He’s done, girl,” the guard said unsympathetically despite the fact that one of their own had just been killed. “He’s done and it’s all your fault.”

“Can’t you put him into a tank or something?” she cried in near hysterics, her legs giving out. “Please? I’ll come with you, I will, I promise, just please help him! Do something!”

“Sorry,” the guard said, dragging her out of the lab and away from Bardock’s lifeless body. “Our orders were to bring you in and kill anyone who attempted to aid you. If you’d have cooperated with us in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The last thing she remembered was trying to wrestle her way out of his grip in an effort to go to Bardock, not that there was anything she could do for him, and she’d felt a blow to her head before everything went dark.

-0-0-0-

Bulma awoke with a start a few hours later. She looked around in panic at the cold, hard surroundings and it took her a moment to remember what had happened.

“Oh, god,” she cried as she remembered everything despite the terrible, pounding headache she had. She sat herself up, bringing her knees to her chest and leaned against the cold, stone wall. She tried to reach out for Vegeta but got back no answer. The good news was he was alive, but either asleep or still blocking her. She was alright with that, for the moment; she did not want to tell him about what had happened. Not yet.

Bulma wept. She could not believe how bad things had gotten so quickly. Not twenty four hours ago she’d been working in the lab with Bardock. They had finished a tedious project and had been joking about what to start work on next. How could this have happened?

Never mind that, what about Penelope? And Chi-Chi? A fresh sob erupted from her as she thought of her friends and how all of this would affect them now. Her best friend’s mate and his father had been killed within a few hours of each other. She wished she could be with the two women to offer them both some comfort for their loss despite the sickening feeling that she may find herself in the same predicament soon as well.

“I am so, so sorry, Bardock,” she sobbed out loud, burying her face in her knees. “I should never-”

“You should never have done a lot of things, my dear.” King Vegeta said to her as he walked up to the cell she was currently occupying.

Bulma wiped her tears quickly and stood up to face him, but kept herself pressed up against the wall and away from him. She discreetly pressed the activation switch on her ki repellent pendant, just in case she needed it. 

“You should have taken my advice and gone when I told you to leave all those weeks ago,” he said to her in a calm tone but she could feel the anger behind his words. “Now I have not only lost my son and the finest warriors my empire had to offer, but I am also without a mate to raise that weakling, and now _only_ heir of mine; I have also now lost my finest, most valued worker for the lab and anything else of importance that I cannot leave for a soldier to do. All because of _You_.”

“I refuse to take all the blame over everything!” she spat back at him. “Bardock is dead because I didn’t leave hours ago when Vegeta first warned me to. I take full responsibility for that loss but I refuse to take responsibility for the rest. That is all on you!”

“This is all your fault!" He snarled at her.

“I didn’t send anyone out to war!” she argued, now just as angrily. “In fact I told Vegeta it was a bad idea to go!”

“Oh, things have been your fault long before this war with Cold, my dear,” he sighed.

 “So please, your _Highness_ ; enlighten me on how everything is supposedly my fault.” She snorted.

“You could not just leave him be and live your life,” he answered.

She shook her head at him. “How could I? He is my mate! I thought that meant something to you people.”

"I am not speaking of recently when I advised you to leave. I am referring back to when Frieza had destroyed that ship you and Kakarott were on. It could not have been more perfect. Vegeta had an out from his mistake and yet you somehow sucked him back in,” he accused. “Had you just left him be after the explosion, everything would have been fine and worked out the way it was meant to. You should have counted yourself fortunate enough just to have survived that and moved on instead of seeking him out!”

“Are you serious?” she asked. “Like if it was your mate and you felt their sadness and shame and anxiety, you wouldn’t have-”

"You had to have known what kind of position you were putting him in by letting him know about your survival, you selfish girl!” he interrupted her. “He was meant to stay here to lead and rule his people as he was born to do, take a proper Saiyan female as a mate, produce a full blooded Saiyan heir; not that joke of a half breed mongrel you've given him!”

Bulma glared at him. How dare he speak about Trunks in that way!

"You couldn't just leave him be, could you?" The king said again. “And now he will face trial and be executed all because of your selfishness.”

"I'm selfish?" she said back to him fearlessly, eyes blazing. What was the point in shrinking back? She was more than likely dead anyway; she figured she may as well speak her mind once and for all. "You're the one who doesn't care anything about what he wants! You deserted him when he was a child. You don't give two shits about him! All you care about is how everything looks to everyone else. I understand that, I do. Believe it or not, I did come from a very prestigious family. My parents had very high expectations of me and I did have to mind how I conducted myself so that it wouldn't reflect poorly on my father and give his company a bad name. I understand it, I do, but my parents never interfered in my private life the way you do with your son!"

"You will mind your tongue in my presence, wench. My son may let you order him around, but I refuse to be talked down to by some lowly bed slave who has a higher opinion of herself than what she should because my son was too stupid and weak to know when to dispose of his toys!"

"You listen to me!" She shouted angrily, coming up to the bars so she could look right at him, forgetting her fear of him and dismissing his insulting remarks completely. "I don't care what your opinion is of me, I really don't, so save the insults. But believe it or not, I _love_ your son! And I know that means absolutely nothing to a cold-hearted, insensitive son of a bitch like you, and he'd be pissed if he knew I was telling you this, but he's not here so too bad!

"You need to wake the fuck up! You should be proud of your son, not ashamed of him; you should be fighting for him, not giving up on him and betraying him! Who cares what all of your advisors and political counsellors think! Use your own discretion and make a choice for yourself for once instead of relying on everyone else and what they think is best. From what I've seen they only care about keeping their positions of power and gaining more power for themselves than for the wellbeing of this planet and its inhabitants."

"You know nothing about running an empire, Woman!" he boomed.

"You’re right, I don’t," she agreed, realizing she may have been overstepping her bounds a little. However at this point she was so angry and sick over what was going on she didn't care about offending him or speaking out of place. "What I do know, is that your son is a wonderful man, mate and father and he is going to be an amazing king once he gets out of this mess you've thrown him into.

"I am sorry that you don't approve of me as his mate, but it was his choice. I don't for the life of me understand why he chose me either, but he did. So live with it! I may not be able to waltz into a battle and participate in hand to hand combat, but I am a technological genius. I am not just some stupid, attractive female he picked up randomly off the street to serve him as arm candy or a pretty little bed ornament for him to blow off steam with at the end of a hard day.  He recognized my usefulness and potential despite my physical shortcomings. He respects me and I respect him deeply, and somehow, despite growing up under your rotten influence and with that horrible Frieza, he grew up to be an exceptional, honorable man!"

"No matter,” he shrugged, unlocking the door and stepping inside with her. “Whether Vegeta makes it out of there by some miracle or not, I will take great pleasure in breaking you. My only regret is my son won't be around to witness it first hand or pick up the pieces."

Bulma rolled her eyes at him as she took several steps back, trying to keep a calm exterior and not let him know how afraid of him she really was. She knew she was trapped with no chance of escape and no hope of rescue. Whatever it was he had in mind she hoped it would be over quickly and before Vegeta decided to contact her through their bond.

"I will, however settle with giving Cold a detailed description of my time with you and to keep him updated and well informed."

"Why don't you do us all a favor and just kill me. It will save everyone a lot of time and hassle." She sighed in a bored tone in hopes of convincing him she was not afraid of him and maybe reveal the extent of his plans for her. "I mean, that's your game plan, isn't it?"

"That would be my preference, yes.”

"Great,” she sighed, trying to keep her fear and despair at the thought hidden from him. She knew if he killed her now, it would be to Vegeta’s detriment; but at the same time she did not want to be used as a tool to hurt him. Not only that, but if he killed her, what would happen to Trunks? She refused to dwell on it at the moment. There had to still be a way for her to think herself out of this.

“Do not worry yourself just yet, my dear,” he said, relishing in giving her the news that she indeed would not be finding a way out of this predicament. “I do not plan on killing you for some time.”

Bulma frowned at him in confusion a moment before she shook her head at him. So she was going to be used as a tool to hurt and destroy Vegeta. While the thought hurt her because she knew she was headed into a world of horribleness for both herself and Vegeta, it also gave her some hope. Maybe Vegeta would still be able to find a way out and come for her and Trunks; she hoped anyway. When it came to keeping them safe, she knew he would always find some way against all odds to ensure their safety. In turn, if she was still alive, she could still work out a plan of escape for herself, Trunks and Tarble if possible. She still had the ship on her in a capsule, jammed down one of her socks. As long as she still had that, there was a chance of escape. For now, all she had to do was stay alive for Vegeta and for Trunks.

"To kill you now would make it very uninteresting for me and would bring down my son much too quickly for both mine and Cold's satisfaction. I want him to know that you suffered and suffered long. You share a bond, I want him to go through it with you and wish for your demise on your behalf." He said finally reaching for her and placing a hand on her neck and squeezing.

He laughed as the plasma shield from her pendant zapped him, but didn’t seem to faze him. “Clever,” he said, ripping the chain and tossing the pendant to the ground easily. “An invention of yours? I have heard you are quite the little genius.”

She panicked as she felt his hand tighten around her neck. Obviously, the plasma shield hadn’t had time to recharge itself enough between turning it off and back on again to be of any use to her. If it had, it would have repelled him to the other side of the cell. When they had initially tested it, it had even thrown Vegeta back.

 _Come on, Bulma. Try and figure out a way to talk yourself out of this._ If she couldn't, there was a huge part of her that was still thankful that Vegeta wasn't listening in. She hoped he was ok and that he had figured something out. She did not want him knowing what may happen here.

She pushed against him as hard as she could despite knowing that there was no way she would be able to fight him off.

He chuckled at her efforts and wrapped his tail around her waist like a vice grip, squeezing and constricting her almost like a serpent would when trying to asphyxiate its prey. She found herself floored by the strength of it. Vegeta was always able to use his tail somewhat like an additional appendage but never had it occurred to her that it could possess this much strength or cause potential damage. He could crush the life out of her right here and now within moments if he really wanted to, which at this moment seemed to be a very good chance.

"Why do you look so surprised, my dear? Did my son never demonstrate to you how strong our tails really are?" He asked in an amused tone, taking great delight in her discomfort.

"He mentioned it," she sighed as it continued to wrap its way up her torso, squeezing her so tightly, she wondered how long it would be before her ribs might crack. She needed to remain calm and think herself out of this. “Oh,” she moaned uncomfortably, trying to take in as much oxygen into her lungs as she possibly could and trying to not panic.

 He suddenly groped her breast gently for a moment before roughly squeezing it, making her cry out. "Don’t touch me!" she shouted, balling her hand in a fist, attempting to punch him but he grabbed her hand and crushed it in his as though it were nothing more than a twig. She screamed as she felt the delicate bones of her hand crush.

He chuckled at her discomfort. "After everything you have done and the influence you have over my son, I want to know exactly what the big deal is. You must be some sort of little freak in the bedroom that he could not bring himself to walk away from you. I know myself, a woman who is amazing in bed can become like an obsession. I want to know what that is and you are going to show me."

He let her go with his tail and turned her around so that she was facing the wall and was firmly pressed up against it with her legs parted by one of his.

"Please stop," she said quietly despite the fear and anxiety coursing through her. "I get it. You're stronger than me and can overpower me without any effort. You don't need to prove that. Please don't do this, I beg you."

"Good. I like begging." He snorted, bringing a hand around her waist, and snaking it down the front of her pants to touch her.

She swallowed down the bitter taste of bile threatening to come up. She felt utterly and completely ill. This could not be happening to her. She remembered then, that once, a long time ago when she and Vegeta had first met, he had warned her to look out for and keep away from his father. That he had some sick thing about forcing himself on women and breaking them down until they were nothing more than a shell. She wondered if she shut her mind off and quit fighting him, he would get bored and decide she wasn't worth his time and either kill her quickly or leave her be to formulate some plan of escape. It wasn't a great plan, but so far that was all she had. She knew she couldn't possibly fight him off.

She should have known that one day it would come to this. She was thankful that Vegeta had not only sheltered her from this potentially happening but he had always been considerate. She supposed the last night they had spent together before he left would be the last time anyone showed her any kind of consideration.

"Cold wants you for himself as part of the deal I made with him; I told him he could have you, but on second thought maybe I will keep you for myself. You could adorn my bed for a time. Until I grow tired of you and then _crush_ you as my son should have. Then maybe Cold can have what is left of you. Not sure what he wants with you," he said as he dipped a finger inside her experimentally. "My god you're tight," he exclaimed.

Bulma shut her eyes tightly, willing herself not to move or make even a sound. She just hoped this would be over with quickly and that Vegeta would not try to check in on her while it was happening. She did not want him to know.

He managed to tear her pants down so they fell to around her knees before ripping her shirt off completely. She yelped as the seams pulled against her skin, hurting her before they gave way. 

She felt her nipples harden at the cool temperature of the cell and covered her chest up modestly, even though she was facing away from him. She hoped he would not notice and mistake her body's natural reaction to the cold as arousal; she was anything but aroused at the moment.

The king looked over her nude form appreciatively a moment before running his hands lightly down her sides, stroking her lightly and finally groping her ass painfully before reaching in front of her, moving her hands away from her chest to grab a breast, squeezing it roughly, eliciting another cry from her.

Bulma tried to squirm away from him but his other arm caught around her waist, bringing her closer to him. She gasped as she felt the massive bulge from his arousal against her bum. Thankfully he was still fully clothed but that did not console her fear and absolute disgust over what was happening to her.

"Where do you think you're going, little one?" he said into her ear, wrapping his tail tightly around her waist so that she was completely trapped and now he had both his hands free to do whatever he wanted to her. "We've only just begun. However, if you wish it, we could move our activities to the comforts of my personal living quarters. This dank, cool cell isn't exactly great for setting the mood. However, I have had some of my more memorable and satisfying conquests happen down here. It is up to you, my dear. I can make this either very comfortable or uncomfortable for you."

"Fuck you and get on with it already." She seethed, trying so hard to not tremble in a mixture of fear and rage.

"I see, raring to go, are we?" he chuckled. "Is that what he likes about you? That you are willing?"

"You’re a pig! My suggestion is for you to leave now and I will never tell him you even touched me," she said through gritted teeth. “Really, what the hell is wrong with you? I'm your son's _wife_! I saw what Vegeta did to Zarbon, you know, and it wasn’t nice. You want to end up like him?"

He chuckled a moment as he thought about it. “I remember what was left of him, yes. Pity though, my son isn’t here this time to rescue you.”

“No, he isn’t, but that won’t stop him from destroying you once he finds out,” she threatened, still trying to think her way out of this. “Which he will.”

“I can hardly wait,” he replied. “He isn’t aware right this moment of your predicament?”

“Nope,” she replied, thankful that he had stopped his fondling as he heard that.

He was quiet a moment as though pondering what to do next. “Pity, however that isn’t so bad, we can get a head start getting to know each other so that when he does check in on you, you both will have plenty to catch up on.”

“Fuck you! I hope to god he kills you more viciously than he killed Zarbon!”

"There we go," he said almost soothingly, ignoring her remarks as he began stroking her front. "I will attempt to make this somewhat pleasurable at least for a little while for you before I get bored and rip into you. I expect many hours of enjoyment out of you, therefore I will play nice for now." he chuckled darkly as his other reached into her hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her head back roughly so that she was forced to look at him.

Bulma only hoped her body would not betray her and give him a mixed message that she was enjoying this. She could weep for Vegeta in this moment. He had endured something so similar to this. He had been just as helpless as she was now and it still haunted him. It was that thought shredded her resolve to shut her mind off and play dead for him; she couldn't let this happen to her, and if it did, she would go through it kicking and screaming the entire time.

With that new resolve and confidence flooding through her, she elbowed him in the gut as hard as she possibly could with her elbow of her crushed hand, and with her good hand squeezed and dug her nails into his tail as deeply as she could, yanking out a good fistful of hair.

She was about to stomp on his foot but quickly found herself slammed up against the wall so quickly and so hard that the wind was knocked out of her. The arm that had elbowed him was twisted up behind her back painfully and she was sure even a degree more and her shoulder would pop out.

"So you want it rough, then?" he snarled at her. “I do like a bit of fire from my conquests.”

Bulma gasped in pain as he held her arm in place and squeezed her still sore, crushed hand. She didn't answer, just winced as he yanked her arm up even higher. "I wonder how long until your arm snaps?" he asked.

Bulma almost wished that he would decide inflicting physical harm on her would be more entertaining to him than raping her. If she could choose, she'd rather he beat her senseless.

“Such perfect skin,” he mused to himself as he caressed up along the left side of her back. She screamed as he dug his nails into her left shoulder, scraping down her back, breaking the skin and leaving a trail of four long, deep open wounds that spanned the length of her shoulder down to her mid back.

"That's it," he chuckled. "The smell of fear. You are even more breakable than I thought."

She choked back a sob, completely giving up on getting herself out of this predicament as she heard him loosen his armor, obviously ready to take it off and get down to business.

He gripped her shoulder, spinning her around to face him and digging her open shoulder wound into the stone wall.

He was about to remove the rest of his flight suite to get down to business when he was suddenly ripped from in front of her and launched to the other side of the cell so fast, she had no idea what was going on. She felt her knees give out on her of sheer exhaustion and shock and collapsed to the ground on the cool stone floor and she pressed herself against the wall.

She could not see who it was, but someone was beating the King to a pulp mere feet away from her and despite the relief flooding her, she was never more terrified than she was right now at the sight of these two male Saiyans brawling mere feet in front of her.

"Who do you think you are?" the king snarled. "Have you any idea who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are and I don't care," the other male growled dangerously, his back to Bulma so she could not tell who her savior was. "This is your son's mate! How could you do such a thing?"

"Who the hell are you to make inquiries and pass judgment on me?" He bellowed. "I am your King.  I will have you imprisoned and worse for daring to cross me! Have you heard of Bardock and what befell him mere hours ago?"

“Oh, Bardock," Bulma moaned, grief overwhelming her again. She covered her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from getting sick.

"I did not get the opportunity to get to know him personally, but I have heard of him."

"Well he is an example of what happens to those who constantly meddle in my affairs," the king said, still trying to figure out who was behind him. "If it is this wench you are wanting for yourself, leave me for a few hours. I have a lesson to give her. If there is anything left, I will hand her over to you if that is your wish."

The other male snarled at him in disgust and turned him so that he could administer to him a blow to the jaw. He'd had enough of him and his speech.

In the midst of all the action, Bulma had to turn away from the carnage happening mere feet away from her. She kept her hand over her mouth and held her breath, trying to keep herself from getting sick at the sight of it and from the trauma of everything that had happened to her in the last few hours. _Maybe this is just a horrible nightmare?_ She asked herself for probably the twelfth time since Vegeta had warned her to leave that morning. _Maybe this is a horrible dream and I will wake up and everything will be fine. I’m still in bed with Aro and when I get up, I’ll get Trunks and Tarble ready like always and go visit Chi-Chi at Bardock’s later on and Vegeta will have won against Cold and everyone will be on their way home by tomorrow. Please let this be just that..._ She pleaded inwardly, praying to whatever god out there that would possibly hear her plea as she listened with her eyes closed to the cracking of bones and the squishing sound of blood and gore.

He meant to stop his assault, but couldn't. Once he'd brought his fist back down, all he wanted was to hit him again and again and so he did, taking out all of his rage and disgust on the man until he was dead and he was punching and making a bloody mess out of a corpse.

"Brolly?" Bulma whispered, unsure once he stopped his assault.

"Bulma," he nodded, wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand. He felt his cheeks redden as he looked at her naked form. He turned his face away awkwardly and found the remnants of her torn top on the ground and tossed it to her.

"Thank you." She said, trying to cover herself as best she could, though the garment was completely ruined.

"Are you alright?" he asked timidly.

"I am, yes," she nodded once. "Thanks to you. If you hadn't come when you had..."

"I was actually here a while," he admitted awkwardly, looking at the ground and refusing to meet her eyes. "I would have stepped in sooner; I wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to help or not. I was waiting for an opportune moment I guess and..."

"When he took off his armor that was it." She answered. While she was beyond grateful that he had rescued her, she was a little more than mortified that he had been waiting and watching as she was being violated and manhandled.

"Yes." he nodded and looked awkwardly at the dead corpse of the king.

"What were you doing down here anyway?"

"I’d heard of your arrest and I wanted to let you know that I checked in on the boys and that they are both alright."

"Trunks and Tarble are ok?" She asked hopefully, in truth she had all but forgotten about them until now.

"Yes, they are both still in the nursery with the maid," he nodded, walking towards the door of the cell. "I need to go."

"Wait! Take me with you!" she said quickly.

"I can't. I have to inform someone of what happened."

"Okay but get me out of here first."

He looked at her a moment before shaking his head. "You will be safe here. I will go and get some clothes for you and we will go."

"I can go get my own clothes, just get me out of here and I will go to my room and change. Please?" She asked in a panicked tone. "I feel dirty. I need a shower and I need to check on the boys.  Please don't leave me down here."

Brolly thought about it for a moment as he considered her plea. "I will be right back, I promise. You cannot walk around the palace as you are."

Bulma sighed in disappointment. She just needed to get out of there, grab the boys and leave in the ship Vegeta had given her. She couldn't do that if he left her in here. "Please hurry."

"I will," he nodded and left as quickly as he’d shown up.

Bulma was quiet and completely still a moment before her stomach retched. She didn't even try to hold it back this time. She let her stomach empty its contents on the ground; not that it had been much. Just bile and the stress of everything making her dry heave even after she had nothing left to purge.

She sat there and just shook like a leaf. She was a mess. She was so torn between wanting so badly to reach out to Vegeta; she needed to feel him, anything, and something from him to get her through this. But not only did she not want him to know that she had waited too long to leave and had been taken into custody, she also didn’t want him to know that his father had tried to harm her, and most of all, she didn't want to tell him his father was dead.

For some reason even though she was well aware that they weren't on good terms, she knew that didn't mean Vegeta wanted his father dead. She knew that deep down he wanted his father's respect and admiration. His father may be a horrible person but he was still his father. She felt guilty. Even as her body still shook with terror and her shoulders, ribs and hand began to noticeably throb in pain now that her adrenaline flow had ceased.

She felt like this was her fault. No, she had not asked for it and she had tried to convince him to leave her alone. She knew that had Brolly not been there that at this moment she would be living in a hell that she didn't want to even fathom.

Despite all of that, she still felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt plaguing her. What if Vegeta blamed her for this? If she had only left sooner, if she hadn't gone back to let Bardock know she was leaving, he'd still be alive, she would not have been taken prisoner and Vegeta’s father would still be alive too. This was all her fault, she told herself as she began to hyperventilate.

She only hoped Brolly would return quickly and she could get herself and the two boys out of here and off this planet; if Brolly wanted, he could even come with them. She hoped it would be that easy and that she could just disappear without a trace; go back to her parents where she should have been to begin with. Vegeta had been so adamant that she get out of there.  It had been the only thing he asked of her and she'd screwed up royally. He was going to be livid with her once he found out. The thought of that alone made her dread talking to him next, even though that was all she wanted.

-0-0-0-

Brolly couldn't get away from the dead body of the king fast enough. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He'd killed a man; and not just any man, but his king! He was in deep trouble. There was only one person he knew who would be able to potentially help him, and that was Paragus.

He would keep his promise to Bulma and come back to her to give her some clothes and get her out of there but she would have to wait.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Butterflies and Hurricanes_ **

 

**_Chapter 17_ **

The more Brolly dwelled on what he'd just done the more frightened and guilty he felt. His stomach was cramped and he could feel his own heart beating and pulse flowing through his veins and he had broken out into a cold sweat.

While he didn't regret rescuing Bulma, he _did_ regret losing himself in his rage to the extent that he had actually killed a man. What did that say about him? Not only had he killed a man; he hadn’t killed just any man, he’d killed his _king_! What did that mean? Yes his king had been wrong in his attempt against Bulma but Brolly knew it wasn't his place to intervene, never mind killing him over it.

 _But Bulma was special,_ he kept reminding himself when he began to panic again. He would do it again no matter who it was that had been trying to do such a thing.

He wasn't sure what it was about her that he found so appealing and endearing and he knew he liked her a lot more than he _should_. Sure she was beautiful, but he had been around beautiful women before. Never had he found himself drawn to any of them the way he was to Bulma. She had been the first person who had been truly kind to him since his arrival to the capital. She was genuine; when she smiled in greeting, it was a _real smile_ , not a fake smile as he was quickly becoming accustomed to around the palace and capital. He knew it was silly to have developed an attachment to her, especially since she was happily unavailable, but it happened before he’d even realized it. In fact he hadn't even realized how deeply he did feel for her until he saw and heard what was going on. It had enraged him. 

She wasn't even his mate and it made him more angry than he ever could remember being. He knew his Prince would have felt the same way if he had witnessed anyone attempting such a thing against her and despite his dislike of him, did not think twice about his actions.

How could he not?

Bulma was the only person who had expressed an interest in him and didn’t treat him as an outsider. He supposed that more than likely had to do with the fact that she was technically more of an outsider than he, but she could have still chosen to not speak to him. Being that she was the Prince’s mate, she had to have heard some of the gossip and opinion surrounding him and she could have shunned him as everyone, her mate included, had but she hadn’t. On the other hand, perhaps she wasn’t privy to everything that went on with her mate when it came to more serious matters and she had no idea of his lowly status; his assessment of his prince in the short time that he had spent with him made him think that he was not the type to be very open with anyone, a woman especially.

Once again, Brolly found himself, as he had many times as of late, wondering what Bulma saw in the man. He was as reserved and unfeeling as someone could be. Yes, part of that was a cultural thing, but Bulma was the exact opposite of that. She was warm and friendly and inviting, he found that he could not help but be drawn to her and assumed that she must have had the same effect on his prince and that was why they were together. However, how could she be content with him? It was clear as day that she held deep affection for Vegeta, an affection that he on occasion, especially as of late, felt a slight pang of jealousy over. 

Brolly was not so dense as to not notice her sadness at Vegeta’s absence. The way she tried to not get emotional the other day when Trunks had started walking. She had brushed it off as being sad that her son was growing up much too quickly before her, and he understood that to a point; but he also knew that a part of it was disappointment that Vegeta had not been the one there to share in that with her. He had pretended to not notice, but he had and in that moment more than ever realized how much he had allowed himself to care for not only just Bulma but Trunks as well.

He had become much too involved and knew that he needed to take a step back and readjust his thinking if he did not want to be too upset when his prince returned; he knew these feelings he was developing were not reciprocated by her. On top of that, he did not want his prince to think that anything indecent had occurred between them either. Bulma had never lead him on or given him the impression that she had any interest in any male other than Vegeta. He knew that and cared enough about her that he would distance himself to make sure his prince had no reason to think that but at the same time, his protective instincts had given him the feeling that he should still keep a close watch on her and Trunks; at least until his prince returned.

That was why he had gone to check on her and thankfully had been where he had when he had been. He had heard the news in the barracks that Prince Vegeta and the rest of his squad had failed in their   mission. It was still unclear as to how many had survived, if any, but it was apparently confirmed that Prince Vegeta was in King Cold’s custody.

Brolly, knowing that the King merely tolerated Bulma’s presence, decided it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her. He made his way to the Royal Wing and got no answer from Bulma at her and Vegeta’s quarters, he decided to check in Prince Tarble’s quarters as that was usually where she could be found in the mornings. He had been relieved to see that both Trunks and Tarble were there and Neesa had mentioned that Bulma had gone to Bardock’s lab quickly.

He left and made his way down to the science wing and was shocked to discover the mess there. Bardock had been killed apparently in his defense of Bulma who had been under arrest for some reason that Brolly could not figure out. He had reported back to his uncle and could not think of anything he could have said that would merit reason for Bulma to be arrested or be in any trouble so he made his way down to the dungeon under the palace where the undesirables were kept before a trial before the King.

What he walked in on had shocked and disgusted him and so while he was sorry he could not have stepped in sooner, he waited for the right opportunity to make his move against the king and now here he was, not sure if he had done the right thing or not; his conscience was literally tearing him in two separate directions.

Brolly knocked frantically on his uncle's office door a moment before just walking in. He needed his council.

“What is it?” Paragus asked in annoyance at the abrupt interruption without looking up. “I am terribly busy, so this had better be brief-- Good god what the hell happened to you?” He asked once he looked up and took in the bloody mess of Brolly standing in his office. 

"Something happened, I meant to help her but it got out of hand..." Brolly stuttered, his calm exterior crumbling now that he was safe in his uncle's quarters and the full weight of what he'd done began to sink in. "I lost my head and, and I killed him."

"Hang on," Paragus hissed, rushing to the door to make sure it was indeed closed and locked so that no one else would interrupt them or eavesdrop on their conversation. Once he was reassured of their privacy, he came around in front of his son and looked him over. He was an absolute mess, covered in blood and he noticed that his knuckles were torn up bad. "Alright, now tell me, from the beginning, what happened."

"I killed him," Brolly said again, shaking his head in shame.

"Alright, who did you kill and why?" He asked quietly, ushering him to sit down in a chair across from his desk. "I am sure whoever it was, you had very good reason behind-"

"I, I killed the king. Our king," he blurted out quickly.

Paragus was silent and looked at Brolly a long moment. _Well, this is certainly unexpected,_ he thought to himself. "Alright," He nodded, still taking this information in. While he'd always had in mind that it would be his son to destroy the king, it had happened much earlier than he had expected. "What happened?" 

"Well, after the news that Prince Vegeta and the rest of his men have been defeated, I went to check on Bulma to see that she was alright. I learned that she was arrested and taken in for questioning. So I checked in on the two infants, they are both in the nursery," Brolly began explaining quickly. "I went down to the holding cells to let her know that the boys were alright and found the King was with her. He hurt her pretty badly and was about to violate her but I stopped him. 

"I had only meant to get him away from Bulma and possibly maim him somewhat but after seeing what he had already inflicted upon her and what he was very nearly about to do, I could not contain my rage. The only thing in my mind was how could he do that to his son's mate? And before I realized it, I had killed him." 

"I see," Paragus nodded slowly, trying to think about what should be done. He wasn't ready for this. It was too soon; much too soon in his overall grand plan. "And Bulma? Where is she now?"

"She's still in the holding cells. She is alright but will require medical attention. I was going to let her out but the king destroyed her clothes. I told her that I needed to deal with what I had done and then I will get her out. She is innocent. I have followed her as you asked," he said quickly. Now having the chance to talk about it, the words just flowed from his mouth as uncontrollably as a geyser turbulently spewing forth water everywhere. "I even befriended her, I have her confidence. She is not guilty of anything." 

"Are you sure your affections for her have not blinded you?" Paragus asked, despite knowing that what Brolly was telling him was true. He and everyone else all knew the girl was no real threat to anyone. They all just wanted her gone because it was unacceptable for their prince to have such a woman as a mate and she had gained far too much favor amongst the second and third class citizens of the capital, in recent weeks especially. Now with their prince out of the picture, all they needed to do was dispose of his heir and mate. However, despite her being of a different race, being as gifted as a she was, maybe keeping her and putting her to work would be a better plan and less of a waste. Especially with Bardock gone now, there was no one to take his place in the lab.

"My judgment is not impaired." Brolly replied with a frown. Yes, he knew he cared more for her than he should and he had scolded himself many times for allowing himself to care for her as much as he did and recognized it as infatuation, but he had made a firm resolve that once his prince returned he would keep his distance from her so as to not cause a problem for Bulma or himself. He knew that his affections were one-sided; Bulma was one hundred percent loyal to Vegeta and he knew she would never stray from him. 

Paragus stood up and walked to his cabinet. "Have a drink to calm your nerves," he said, grabbing two glasses.

"I don't have time," Brolly said standing up. "I need to get something for Bulma to wear and get her out of there. I've been away too long as it is and when I left she was under much distress."

"I'm sure she's fine," Paragus brushed off. "Just sit for a moment. You have just been through something very traumatic. I need to collect a few more crucial details from you if I am to keep you out of trouble." he said, pouring both himself and Brolly a drink. He chanced a look at him.

"Very well," Brolly nodded, sitting back down and putting his head in his hands in anguish.

Quickly, Paragus grabbed a sedative and poured a generous amount into Brolly's drink. He had been so preoccupied on his scheming and planning that he hadn't kept track of his son's progress. He needed to probably turn up the intensity if his ki dampening device he wore, disguised as a very expensive looking gold and jade-stoned necklace; the only way he could do that now was if he was asleep. Plus it would give him some time to figure out what to do.

With this new turn of events, he wasn't sure what the best course of action was to take. If anyone found out that the king was slain by Brolly, he would be certainly executed without trial. No one stood up against the king. No one would mourn him, but Brolly would still be made an example of. 

Paragus handed Brolly his drink and sat down across his desk. “Do not fret,” he said calmly, “I will make sure everything is dealt with and that you are not implicated.”

“And what about Bulma?” he asked, taking a healthy sip of his drink. “It wasn’t her fault this happened.”

“She will be taken care of,” Paraus nodded. Indeed what was he going to do about her? Things were complicated. He could not allow Brolly out to free her and he could not just dispose of her either; the king had made an arrangement with Cold. If it were up to him, he would rather keep her here and have her work for him. If there was peace between the Saiyans and the Ice-jin, he could very easily plan an attack and destroy them. Perhaps Bulma could be persuaded in assisting their efforts if she was convinced that by doing so, there would be a chance to bring back Vegeta? Once all was said and done, she and her son could be easily disposed of and Prince Vegeta too if possible.

“Have you any news on whether or not Asia or anyone else got out alright?” Brolly asked.

“Hmmm, nothing yet on that, I’m afraid.” he answered. In truth, he had completely forgotten about his daughter. It had been nice and peaceful around the palace since she had left. He did not have to constantly hear her complaining about how much she detested King Vegeta. It would be a shame if she was killed, but in the overall scheme of things, a blessing; she was nothing more than another loose end to be tied up in his master plan. Brolly would be the next to take the throne and she very well could not be queen anymore if that happened, even though no one else besides himself knew that they were indeed siblings and not cousins.

This way was much better, he decided. While it was sad; Asia had done everything he had ever asked of her to a T. However, with her gone, he could be rid of that useless child she and the king had produced and he could be rid of the Vegeta line entirely. _It could not be more perfect, actually,_ he thought with a mad grin.

Paragus shifted his attention back to his son and noticed with great satisfaction that he was beginning to look drowsy already. Brolly would make a fine king, he decided. No, he was not ready and lacked experience, but that’s what Paragus was there for. He would coach him and Brolly being the kind hearted, gullible and naïve fool that he was would be nothing more than his puppet. Once the extent of his true power was revealed, no one would think twice about questioning his suitability for the throne and finally Paragus would have everything he ever wanted.

Within a few minutes, Brolly was sound asleep in his chair; he hadn’t even finished his drink. Paragus administered a shot to him in his arm to make sure that he would be out cold for several hours; he had much to do and not much time to do it all.

He removed the necklace Brolly had been wearing and removed the backing and jade stone to reveal a small chip. He plugged it into a small device on his desk and cursed his own negligence; Brolly’s power had somehow grown and developed more within the last three weeks than he ever had! How his true potential had not come out before, he had no idea but he was thankful. Brolly had been a ticking time bomb waiting to go off!

In a way he was thankful, for his neglect. If he had been monitoring him properly, the King would have more than likely killed Brolly in his foolish attempt to save Bulma. If he hadn’t been killed in the skirmish, he would most certainly have been arrested and executed for his attempt. That stupid woman of Prince Vegeta’s was a detriment to everyone she came near and he needed to figure out what to do with her. He had half a mind to send her to Cold if for no other reason than to just be rid of her. However, if he did that, then it would potentially be a huge loss.

He finished making the needed adjustments to Brolly’s necklace before putting it back on him. Feeling content that he would be asleep for a very long while, being that with the extra output that he had applied to his ki dampening device, his body would not begin to metabolize the drug he had given him anytime soon.

Paragus locked up his office and decided to pay the lovely Bulma a visit.

 -0-0-0-

Bulma wasn’t sure how much time had passed; it felt like hours to her. She had finally calmed down enough to get some sense to grab the king’s discarded cape and was using it as a blanket since her own clothes were nothing more than a shredded mess.

It was cold down there and it provided her with some warmth, though she was still shaking uncontrollably but she chalked that up to aftershock of everything that had happened and for the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next.

 _Where is Brolly?_ She wondered for about the one thousandth time. Had it really been that long since he had left or did it feel like forever when in reality it had only been a few minutes? The king hadn’t started to smell, so she figured it wasn’t hours. However it was chilly down here so it may be a long while yet before he would start to smell.

Bulma shook her head as her mind and thoughts spiraled in and out of control with random thoughts here and there almost as though her brain were trying to keep her distracted from the situation at hand. Every time she directed her thoughts to begin trying to think rationally and concoct a scheme and plan of escape, some other stupid thought would cross her mind and so began the whirlwind of random thoughts that would consume her.

Once again, despite not wanting him to know the current situation, Bulma wanted to know what was happening with Vegeta. Part of her was glad that he had not tried yet to reach out to her and inquire of her current whereabouts; she could not deal with filling him in on what had happened, not yet. The other part of her was beginning to worry the longer the time went on that she did not hear or feel anything from him. Was he alright? She kept asking herself.

 _No news is good news,_ she kept mentally repeating to herself over and over again like a mantra when she felt herself begin to lose to the panic threatening to consume all rational thought. _No news is good news. No news is good news._ She kept saying until she felt herself calm down again somewhat. She knew he wasn’t dead; she knew that much and decided to hang onto that for now.

If Vegeta was still alive, it still meant that not all was lost.

Once again, her thoughts began to drift and her hand was beginning to throb even worse than earlier as she inspected it; it needed to be set soon or it would never heal properly she thought in dismay. Her fingers were completely mangled and her wrist was so swollen she could not tell if it was actually broken or just a really bad sprain. Either way, she could not move it.

She began to play with the fabric of the king’s cape, trying to tear a few small strips out of it in an attempt to make some sort of tensor bandage for the time being but could not; not with her hand broken as badly as it was. She could not even grip the fabric hard enough to rip it.

She held her breath as she tried ripping it again and instead cried out as the pain in her hand became too much for her to even try; she even put a corner of it in her mouth and pulled at it with her good hand and still could not tear it up.

“What the hell is this shit made out of?” she raged under her breath in frustration. She sighed and then remembered her torn up shirt; reaching for it, she was easily able to tear the rest of it up into several strips using her teeth and one good hand.

Bulma winced and whimpered as she forced her fingers straight, setting them as best she could. She was surprised none of the bones were sticking up out of her skin. The metacarpals of her hand were broken so her hand bent in an unnatural, almost sinister way and she was not sure what to even do with her poor hand.

She held her breath and wrapped it up with the largest piece of fabric she had, trying to straighten her hand out as much as she could despite the excruciating pain. Once she did that, she bandaged up her wrist so that it could not move, hoping that it was only sprained and not broken.

Her open shoulder wounds by this point were still throbbing but had subsided somewhat if for no other reason, she had been distracted tending to her hand. She tried to turn her head to look but it was so dark she couldn’t tell how badly wounded she was. Her other shoulder, while thankfully not broken, hurt her too much to be able to reach out and touch the scratches so she could get a sense of whether or not they were still bleeding or how deep they were. She knew it must have been bad since she still felt like that side of her was on fire; hopefully it wouldn’t get infected and with that thought in mind, she threw the cape back up around both her shoulders both in an attempt to keep warm and shield the open wound.  

 _Where’s Brolly?_ She asked herself again trying not to panic. Between what had actually happened and not knowing if and when he was coming back to help her and not knowing how Trunks was doing and still she had no clue as to what had become of Vegeta she was becoming a complete wreck. She had to trust that Brolly would come back and help her, why wouldn’t he? And Vegeta hadn’t spoken to her because he was busy figuring out his situation. He had to have found a way out, he had to…

"Well, well, what have you done now, my dear?" A voice asked out of the blue, interrupting her thoughts.

She stood up, keeping the king’s cape wrapped protectively around her. "I didn't do anything." She replied, finding herself face to face with Paragus. Her stomach dropped in dread. She did not know the man, but she knew he would be thrilled to see her done away with. She hoped he would not try to frame her for the king’s death. That was all she needed. "I'm pretty sure it was an accident. He tried to rape and violate me and Brolly saved me."

"Right, I heard." He nodded, looking over at the king’s dead body with a scowl Bulma wasn’t sure how to read.

“Where’s Brolly?” she asked suspiciously.

“He’s resting,” Paragus said, leaning and looking at the gruesome mess of the deceased king. “He was deeply disturbed over what happened here so it is best he make himself scarce until I figure out how to deal with this mess you have created.”

“I didn’t do anything!” She objected angrily. “I was on my way off of Vegeta-sei. I already knew that things hadn’t worked out in Vegeta’s favor. I was on my way out with Trunks when I was arrested by the king’s guard. Just let me go, I’ll never return and you will never hear from me again.”

He stared at her a moment as though considering her plea.

"Come _on_ , can you let me out of here?" She asked after he said nothing for a long while.

"Not just yet. I am trying to decide what I am to do with you," he replied slowly.

"Ok, well, while you are trying to decide that, can I please check on my son and grab some clothes and hopefully a shower?” she pleaded. “I am actually hurt, I need to properly wrap my hand and wrist; he scrapped and gouged along my shoulder; please let me out.” He did not need to know she had a ship and everything she needed there. All she needed was to grab the boys and go.  

"I think not,” he said finally.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Cold and his men are on their way to retrieve you. I would rather keep you here and utilize your talents in our technological advancement, but King Vegeta already make an agreement that has you going to Cold. You and your son in fact."

"No,"

"Oh yes," he nodded, not looking the least bit sympathetic.

"Well, I would rather stay here as well but I need to get out of this cell.”

“I don’t think so,” he said again, shaking his head. “Not until I figure out what to do with you and come up with an excuse to Cold as to why he cannot have you. Perhaps he will be alright with just taking that mutt of yours and leave you here.”

“No,” Bulma said firmly, now getting angry. “You will either send me with Trunks or leave Trunks here with me.”

“And you are not in any position, my dear, to make demands.” Paragus chuckled. “Prince Vegeta may have been besotted with you but with him gone, you have absolutely no say in anything.”

“Fine,” she nodded though she already knew that; she didn’t need him to tell her that. “Look, I will do just about anything you want if you would let me keep Trunks. I can work in the lab, build you weapons and help you to make advancements; I will do just about anything you ask just so long as you don’t send Trunks away.”

“We’ll see,” he said after a moment’s deliberation. “I now have a mess to cover and clean up. I will decide later on what to do with you and your son.”

“Thank you,” she said, though did not get the impression he cared one iota about what to do with her or Trunks. “Can you please let me out to change into something and check on my son?” she asked again.

“Later,” he said, turning to leave.

“Wait!” she called after him. “Can you at least send someone down with some clothes and something to bandage up my hand and shoulder?”

“You will wait here until further notice,” was all he said before leaving. He did not trust that she would not talk a well-meaning servant to let her out. Then who knew where she would go or what she would do? He knew she was smart and he wanted to keep her here. He would have to make sure she was well supervised if he did let her out. The last thing he needed was her leaving and disappearing. No, she was a very valuable commodity if for no other reason she could be used as a bargaining chip with Cold or used as leverage. He needed to make sure Prince Vegeta could not escape and return here.

Paragus made his way back to his study where Brolly was still snoring. He had a few hours to move him someplace else before he awoke. 

 -0-0-0-

“Fucking bastard!” Bulma cursed under her breath as panic began to sink in and swallow her up again. She needed to find a way out of there and now.

As she sat there, she decided she could not wait any longer to hear from Vegeta.

 ** _Vegeta,_** she called out to him, trying to open up their bond despite the wall he had put up to block her from distracting him. She both needed to hear from him and dreaded talking to him at the same time.

She waited a few minutes and when she received no response, she tried again, this time not caring about how upset he would be, she just needed to know that he was alive and somewhat alright. **_Are you alright? Please tell me you're alright._**

 ** _Woman,_** he replied very faintly a few moments later, coming to from her mental prodding and the sound of her voice in his head. He grit his teeth through the pain he was feeling. Though it was more localized to his ribs, shoulder and arm, it was excruciating and his head and neck felt very heavy. He wondered how long he had been out. He looked around groggily at his surroundings. He was contained in a small, sterile, white room that almost resembled a lab and realized that he had been stripped of his armor, gloves and boots and was clad in nothing but for his thermal flight suit, thankfully, as it was freezing enough that he could see his breath; his feet and hands were feeling numb from the cold. 

As he wondered where the hell he was and questioning whether or not he was dead, he remembered what had happened. That android had drained him of all his energy and must have brought him here. He had failed in his mission and now here he was. His last coherent thought he could recall was being relieved that he had warned Bulma to leave. **_Bulma,_** he said. **_You made it off Vegeta-sei with Trunks, right?_**

 ** _No,_** she replied. **_No, we're still here._**

 ** _What,_** he said, feeling his mouth go dry, and his stomach drop accompanied by a light headed, nauseous whooshing sensation all at once that had his stomach not been empty, he was sure he would have vomited. **_Why? I told you to leave hours ago. What are you still doing there?_** He asked, trying to swallow the feeling of panic and not jump to conclusions. If Bulma hadn't left, there had to be a good reason he reassured himself. 

**_We were stopped by palace security, Vegeta. I'm sorry, I tried, and it was a disaster._ **

**_You and Trunks are alright?_ **

**_Yeah, we're just fine,_** she replied confidently hoping he wouldn't ask for the specific details of what had happened. She could tell he was exhausted and overwhelmed with despair and she did not want to add to it. Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to get in touch with him. However she had been sick with worry wondering if he was alright or not?

 ** _I told you to get out,_** he thought in such deep anguish, the bitter emotion at their current predicament nearly overwhelmed her. **_That was all you had to do: Grab the brats and go._**

 ** _I know,_** she replied. **_I tried, really I did but they came for me._**

She heard him snort in barely concealed resentment at her inability to do the one thing he had instructed her to do. **_Let me guess, you had to run around and waste time trying to get in touch with Kakarott's mate or in pursuit of something equally as stupid instead of leaving right when I told you to. Am I right?_**

 ** _Not exactly,_** she replied guiltily. He was somewhat right ** _. I packed up as quickly as I could and went to the lab to leave Bardock a note so he would know where I went. We were ambushed on my way out of the lab. They killed Bardock, Vegeta. He tried to help get me out of there and-_**

 ** _For fuck’s sake, I told you to leave immediately, Bulma,_** he said quietly. Despite the calm tone he used, she could quite literally _feel_ the heat from his fury and outrage radiating off of him to such an uncomfortable degree that her surroundings began to feel warm and she was somewhat grateful that he was not in the same room with her in that moment. **_That was exactly what that meant! Drop everything and leave!_**

**_I did the best I could!_ **

**_If that was your best then I would hate to know what your worst would have been._ **

**_Don't be that way!_** She snipped at him, trying to not start crying.

 ** _What other way shall I be then?_** He asked angrily. **_You had one task. One, simple, fucking task and that was to leave when I told you to!_**

 ** _I know, Vegeta,_** she replied sadly, trying to keep her emotions together; she'd known he would be livid with her once he found out that she hadn't made it off Vegeta-sei. **_But your father obviously knew that things weren't going your way. I was leaving when they showed up._**

Vegeta was quiet a long time as he grit his teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn’t split and crack. He knew he had to clear and rein in his emotions or he would say something hurtful to her in his anger over the situation that not only did he not mean but that he would deeply regret later on. However the mere mention of his father sent a cold wave of alarm and dread piercing through him. She was unprotected and so was his son, who knew what would happen to them now. 

As angry as he was with her at the moment, he hoped more than anything his father hadn't harmed Bulma in any way and immediately his mind began to conjure up all sorts of horrible possibilities.

 ** _I'm fine,_** was all she said, picking up on his fears for her wellbeing. Some of the mental images racing through his mind causing the terror of what had very nearly happened to her to hit her hard again being that she had very nearly experienced what he feared had Brolly not been around to intervene exactly when he had.

 ** _He didn't--?_** He could not bring himself to finish the question.

 ** _No,_** she replied quickly, dismissing the horrible thoughts on what actually very nearly _had_ happened to her. Thankfully Vegeta was too distracted and upset about their current predicament that he had not picked up on her thoughts and she knew she would have to be very careful about what she dwelled on; he didn't need to know right now or hopefully ever what had actually gone on. 

 ** _My father did not touch you, did he?_** He clarified. Despite how angry he still was with her at the moment, he had to know.

 ** _No,_** she lied again. 

 ** _I do not believe you,_** he said. **_What happened with him?_**

 ** _Nothing, really. He yelled at me and said everything was my fault and that I was selfish for not leaving you and he tried to scare me a bit but then he left and that was the worst of it, I'm fine._** She said, trying to sound as convincing as possible and not wanting to tell him his father had been killed in his attempt at trying to carry out whatever horrible plan he’d had for her. **_For now, anyway. I think he’s still afraid of you coming back here if he hurts us._**  

He could tell she wasn't being completely honest with him but decided to drop the subject for the moment. At this point, it was a non-issue. She was safe for now and that was the main thing. If something truly horrible had happened to her, despite her own stupidity, he was not sure how he would be able to cope with that knowledge at the moment.  ** _And Trunks?_** He asked.

 ** _He's ok as far as I know,_** she replied, trepidation washing through her again at the thought that something bad could have happened to Trunks by now and she would be completely oblivious to it. **_I left him in the nursery with Tarble. I saw Brolly a while ago and he said he checked on them and they are both fine. No one has taken an interest in them._**

 ** _Yet._ ** He grated.

 ** _How about you?_** She asked, wanting to change the subject somewhat. **_Are you alright?_**  

**_No,_ **

She was quiet again a long time, unsure of what to say to him. Things were worse than bad at the moment. The only thing that would have made him feel better was knowing that she and Trunks had made it safely off Vegeta-sei. She knew that and she felt even worse now about everything. She had failed him. He had been counting on her to get herself and Trunks to safety and she had blown it. What could she say to him? She should not have attempted to speak with him now. She wanted to ask about Kakarott, but decided that now was not a good time; she would ask later.

 ** _Are you on your way back? Did you escape or have they taken you?_** She asked cautiously. She had to know, even though deep down she already knew the answer. 

 ** _I am in their custody,_** he admitted grudgingly, trying not to panic and trying to make a mental assessment of his injuries as he sat himself up, again trying to figure out why his neck felt so heavy? He put a hand on his neck, only to feel cold metal. As he felt around, he came to the realization that he had a collar on and immediately felt rage wash over him in assuming it was a ki collar to keep him locked down and defenseless. Without his ki, his injuries would take longer to heal as well. From what he could tell, his collarbone was broken and his shoulder was either broken or badly dislocated and he had a few broken ribs on each side. He found himself wondering again how long he'd been out. **_What time is it?_** He asked urgently. **_How long ago did I warn you to leave?_**

 ** _I'm not sure, Vegeta. I'm locked in the dungeon or jail or whatever this place is,_** she sighed, trying to figure out how long ago that had been that he'd warned her. **_That was early this morning I think, so it can't be more than twenty four hours._**

 ** _Hmmn,_** he grunted, not happy with that news. The Android had drained him good. As it was he could barely keep his eyes open. If it had drained him to the point of putting him into a coma that was not good; especially since he was wearing a ki collar. It would put a delay on replenishing his energy if it would let him at all. Depending on who was keeping watch on him, if it was the Androids or any of Cold's soldiers there would be no chance of him overpowering anyone and making an escape. He was fucked, he realized. Royally and utterly fucked. 

Not to mention Kakarott had had the ship on him when he was killed. So he had no method of transportation to get him off this hellhole of a planet even if luck was on his side and he actually got out of there at some point. 

**_What do you think is going to happen next?_ **

**_Nothing good, woman._** He replied quietly, almost eerily calm.

 ** _Well, I’m still working on a way out of here,_** she said, trying to remain as positive as possible. **_Brolly said he would come back; I’m sure I can talk him into letting me out of here. I’ll grab the boys and get out. I have the ship on me, Vegeta. I know I can still make it off Vegeta-sei._**

 ** _Do whatever it takes, Woman._** He said. **_Just get yourself and Trunks out safely. If you can do that, I will be fine. I will bide my time and find a way to meet up with you._** He said, trying to sound confident, even though he knew the likelihood of him ever finding a way to join her and Trunks and see them again was slim at best.

**_I’ll drop the boys off with my parents and then see what I can do in terms of getting you out._ **

**_No, Bulma,_** he replied harshly, **_do not come after me!_**

 ** _Well, I’m not going to let you stay there and be tortured to death or whatever it is they have planned for you!_** She argued and he knew she meant it.

 ** _I will find my own way, Woman!_** He snapped. **_You are to remain on Calisto until further notice; that is a direct order._**

**_I’m not one of your soldiers you can command and boss around, Vegeta! I can talk to Piccolo and see what I can find out. I will come there by myself if I have to, Vegeta._ **

**_Whatever,_** he sighed in annoyance. Despite absolutely not wanting her to be put any more at risk, he loved her for her insistence on wanting to help him when at the moment she was more than likely worse off than he was what with his father keeping her captive. **_What does it matter anyway; you do not listen to anything I have to say anyway._**

 ** _Just hang in there, Vegeta._** She said, ignoring him. **_We’ll figure this out._**

 ** _Just focus on getting yourself and the boy to safety, Bulma._** He said, sounding a bit more confident. **_That is my main concern. If you can do that, then perhaps you can find a way to get me out but until then, forget me. I can manage on my own. We have the bond, do not block me out._**

 ** _I won’t,_** she agreed, trying to keep her emotions together. **_Don’t block me out either._**

 ** _Hmmn,_** he grunted.

**_I mean it, Vegeta._ **

**_I know,_** he said, though he knew that if things took a turn for the worse in terms of whatever Cold had in mind for him, he would not subject her to it no matter how badly she wanted to help see him through it. He only hoped that his father would hold off on harming her, he didn’t think he could stand it if he did, but he would not abandon her to endure a bad encounter alone.

He was about to say something else to her but was distracted by the sound of someone punching in a key code on the other side of his cell. **_Someone is coming, I will talk to you later._**

 ** _Wait! Don’t block me out!_** She shouted mentally but it was too late, he had already put a wall up.

“Stupid asshole!” she cursed to herself. While she was frightened and she was relieved that he seemed okay, despite the horrid circumstances, it pissed her off that he decided that he could just block her like that; especially with the way things were going right now!

While she appreciated that he did not want to subject her to anything horrible he may be going through, hell, she thought the same about him being present in her mind while his father had come to visit her. However, he would insist on going through it with her if he had happened to seek her out during that.

That was how she felt; and she resented the fact that he thought he could block her out but he would have a conniption if she blocked him through her troubles.

At the moment, she was alright for the most part. She didn't fear for her life; Paragus' interest was only with her working for him. So she wasn't worried about being physically harmed, which gave her some relief and she assumed Trunks was alright with Neesa for the time being; especially if the plan was to send him to King Cold.

Bulma needed something to take her mind off of everything and the never ending throbbing of her poor hand, which she feared would never be the same again if she didn’t receive some immediate medical attention.

She wanted to be there for Vegeta as much as she could. She knew that there wasn't much she could do for him, but she did not want him suffering alone. She had felt herself being drawn into a deep pit of despair from him and knew that leaving him to face things on his own was the worst idea, no matter how much he denied her instance on being there with him.

"God damned stubborn Saiyan." She mumbled under her breath as she concentrated hard on him and breaking through that damned wall he had up. He wasn't in any physical distress but he was not in good spirits. At the moment, he seemed neutral for the most part. That couldn't be a bad sign, could it? 

-0-0-0-

Vegeta stood up to face whomever was on the other side of the door.

He was surprised when a vaguely familiar, weak, elderly man walked in with the Android next to him. He had been expecting just the Android or even Cold himself, not this man. His mind raced as he tried to remember where he had seen him before.

“Greetings, Prince Vegeta,” he said with a sinister smile that gave Vegeta chills. “I am not sure if you remember me or not, but we have met before and I must admit, you have no idea how happy I am with the prospect of working on you. I was very disappointed it did not work out last time.”

Vegeta looked at him blankly, something about him, his eyes. Yes, he remembered him but from _where_? “You!” Vegeta snarled once it finally clicked. “It was you who messed with Bulma’s head!”

“It was,” he admitted with an evil, unapologetic grin.

"I am truly, very sorry I did not choke the life out of you the first time we met," he snarled. "I remember your ugly old face well. If I had only known, I would have ended your life then and there in your lab on Frieza’s ship; I had assumed you to be nothing more than a withering, decrepit old fool at the time. Apparently I was wrong when I made that assessment."

"Yes, there's the infamous arrogance I have heard so much about,” Gero said with a smile and was silent a moment with an odd look on his face as though trying to remember something important. “How is she?” He asked then cocking his head to the side suddenly with great interest. “You know, if I’d have been able to have more time to spend with her, she would have forgotten you completely. Lord Frieza was much too impatient however and so I had to settle for the next best thing: alter her memories and recollections of events and I did place a few selective pieces of information from the databases of information I had on you. I had enough material there to manipulate her into absolutely detesting you, if I recall correctly.”

Vegeta growled in response. “I will destroy you for what you did to her.”

“Tell me, were you able to undo it?” He asked, unfazed, ignoring Vegeta’s threats.

Vegeta smirked arrogantly. “Of course I was, you fool. You greatly underestimate the power of a Saiyan bond with their mate.”

Gero frowned at him and did not say anything.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Vegeta sneered. “Thanks to you, all you accomplished was making our bond to one another even stronger than it was before you tampered with her mind.

“I will give it to you by admitting that it took some time to undo what you did and there are still side effects that plague her, but I did fix it and I did bring her back and now that I know it was you who put her through that, I you can be sure that your days are numbered and I will exact pay back for everything you did to her.” 

“Well, that will have to wait, I’m afraid,” the Android said, taking a step towards Vegeta with a pair of hand cuffs. “You have an appointment with King Cold you were very concerned about not missing if I recall.”

“How considerate of you,” Vegeta scoffed, balling his fists and assuming a defensive position despite his exhaustion. He knew he would not be able to fight it off, but that did not mean he was alright with going along with it willingly.

“Really, Vegeta, do I need to force you to comply again?” It asked with a sinister smile. “Nothing would make me happier; something about your energy, I do not know what is in it, but it satiated me like nothing else ever has. I can replenish my reserves and drag you to Cold if you like or you can choose to come quietly.”

Vegeta bared his teeth at it; neither option was something he wanted to do, but he refused to shame himself further by being dragged down to Cold barely coherent from lack of energy when as it was he could barely concentrate. “Fine!”

“Excellent.” It said, approaching him again, taking his hands and cuffing them tightly in front of him.

“Very good,” Gero cut in. “We can discuss things later, and believe me there is much I want to discuss with you. I am very much looking forward-”

“Enough!” Vegeta snapped, standing as tall and proud as he was able. “Take me to Cold, now.”

“As you wish.” The Android said, taking him by the arm and leading him out of the lab and down to Cold’s throne room.

It was large and spacious and the floor was a dark, shiny ice blue. Vegeta hadn’t noticed until just then that the floors and walls must have been made of ice. It didn’t surprise him, but the realization of it reminded him how cold he was as his feet burned from the cold floor.

At the top of the stairs, sat King Cold upon a silver throne. He ceased all conversation with several of his advisors present, put down his wine and stood up as soon as he saw Vegeta being lead into the room by Gero and the Android.

"Ah, Prince Vegeta," King Cold greeted in a cool tone, looking him over thoroughly. "It has been many, many years since I last had pleasure of meeting you. You were about this tall the last time I saw you." He said, holding his hand out, indicating that Vegeta had been about two feet or so shorter at that time than he was now. "I would have expected you to be closer to your father's height, but apparently not all offspring inherit everything; look at my son, Frieza. He never grew to my height either. Though unlike my son, you bare an uncanny resemblance to your father. You are almost a miniature carbon copy."

Vegeta growled at him. "Cut the small talk and get on about what you want with me." He demanded. "I hear you nearly turned half of the universe upside down in your attempt to find me. Well here I am."

Cold smirked at him. "Just like your father, in that you are quick to wanting to get down to business, I see."

"I do not understand the point in wasting time on pleasantries," Vegeta shrugged. "Especially being that this is not a social visit."

"Very well," Cold nodded. "As you are more than well aware, you and I have some unfinished business or rather I have quite the bone to pick with you, in regards to the matter of my youngest son to be specific, that must be discussed and resolved." 

"Do you want the short version or the long version?" Vegeta scoffed with a smirk. 

"You may give me any version you wish as there are many details I am sure I am missing."

"Very well; your son enslaved and tormented me in my youth and adolescence. Once I completed my obligatory time with him I returned home and eventually took a mate of my choosing during that time," Vegeta started, surprised that Cold even cared to hear his side of the story. He had only asked which version he wanted to be snarky, not thinking he would actually want to hear anything he had to say. "Your son made a point of paying my father a visit in his desire to hire me back and promote me as his First Lieutenant. While the promotion was appreciated, when I declined he made an attempt on my mate's life and under the assumption that she was deceased, I then returned to my service with him and accepted the promotion, as I had nothing else to live for at that time."

"Yes, I remember hearing about that," Cold commented thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. "Your mate, however survived, did she not?"

"Yes, by some miracle she did," Vegeta confirmed with a nod. "In my relief of learning that she was alive, I hastily made the decision to abandon my position with Lord Frieza and pursue a quiet life with my mate in seclusion while we figured out what we wanted to do for the long term."

"And so you took leave without permission, disappeared and thought that would be alright without consequences?" Cold asked. 

"I did not consider that at the time," Vegeta admitted. During his time with Bulma, he realized once again that he had forgotten about how unforgiving and brutal the universe was. She made everything seem so easy and carefree, that he could abandon everything just like that and it wouldn't be a big deal. In his desire to make her happy and attempt to build a real life with her and Trunks, he had allowed her to warp his thinking about the universe he lived in. "I was simply grateful that my mate was indeed alive and well. I had thought her to be dead for many months before discovering her survival."

"You were a man in love?" Cold asked mockingly. 

Vegeta gaped at him and stuttered as he tried to come up with a suitable answer; while it was true, he did not think that was any of Cold's business and he did not want to admit to such a thing here in front of Cold and his advisors.

"Hmmmm, I assumed such things were beneath you," he said in a judgmental tone. "I had heard it to be rumored that you were the perfect warrior."

"I _am_!" Vegeta snapped. 

"Yet you allow your better judgment to be clouded and continue to make decisions based around your affections for a woman?" 

Vegeta said nothing in reply. What could he say? It was true. He had allowed his feelings for Bulma to cloud and dictate his judgment pretty much from the day he had met her. It was something he berated himself over many times, but yet he would not change it for anything. 

"Do you want to hear the rest of what happened to that filthy lizard you called your son or not?" Vegeta snarled, wanting to turn the direction of the conversation away from Cold's analyzing his and Bulma's relationship. 

"Mind how you speak of my son, Vegeta; it is you who is in the wrong." Cold said sternly.

"I beg to differ and so might you once you consider the rest of my story," he replied unapologetically. "It was shortly after I abandoned my position that my mate became pregnant and Frieza had discovered where we were and had her abducted and brought to him." Vegeta explained, trying to keep to the main events and not deviate from the important facts. 

"And so what, you followed in an attempt to retrieve your pregnant mate?"

"That is correct," Vegeta nodded. "Your son purposed something to which I could not allow. In the time that he had my mate he had that freak twist and manipulate her mind in an attempt to brain wash her." Vegeta said, pointing at Gero.

"That's not entirely accurate," Gero piped up defensively.

"Now let the man tell his story," Cold advised. "You may tell your side once we go to trial."

"This is not my trial now?" Vegeta asked dumbly.

"Oh, heavens no." Cold sighed. 

"Then what the hell are we wasting time doing here?"

"I simply wish to hear what you have to say for yourself before we begin a trial so as to waste less time later. I will consider your side and decide on the appropriate actions to take between now and then."

"So this technically is my trial then,"

"No," Cold shook his head. "Your trial will include a statement from several other eyewitness accounts of your time on Frieza's ship as well as video surveillance footage to be taken into account."

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "Why don't we skip to all that and arrive at my sentencing now?" He suggested. "No matter what you have, you will be making your decision as soon as I am escorted out of here anyway, regardless of whatever supposed evidence you possess."

"You are correct, however I wish to speak with your mate myself with regards to all this," Cold said. "She should be here shortly; I sent out a ship to retrieve her when your father advised me of your arrival."

Vegeta ground his teeth together at confirmation that his father had indeed set him up. "I fail to understand what purpose you speaking with her would serve.”

Cold thought on it for a moment. "I not only wish to speak with her but I am of the understanding that she is something of a gifted individual and that her talents would be an asset to me. I wish to offer her a job working here for me, under the direct supervision of Dr. Gero of course."

Vegeta tipped his head back and took a deep breath to calm his anger; this was like Deja vu all over again. The weight of the ki collar weighing heavily on him and it's draining of his energy making him feel like he needed a weeks’ worth of sleep already. "Let me guess, you wish for her to work willingly with you to advance whatever sick plan you have for the universe and you want my son to condition as you see fit?"

"That about sums it up." Cold nodded. "However I think Gero was very interested in knowing the result of your offspring. We can decide later on what to do with it. I think it was Gero's intention to run some tests?"

"Indeed!" Dr. Gero nodded with a psychotic enthusiasm that Vegeta wanted to knock out of him.

"The possibilities are endless, Vegeta." Cold said happily. 

Vegeta nodded. "Well, you wanted to hear my side of the story, did you not?"

"I did."

"Your son purposed somewhat of a similar arrangement and that was why I destroyed him," Vegeta said. "Make no mistake, I will do the same to you should you attempt any such thing where my family is concerned. You do not need them, let them go. You may do what you like with me for my actions against Frieza, but leave my mate and son out of this." 

"I sympathize with you Vegeta; it is very admirable that you would trade your life in exchange for theirs but I am afraid that is not part of the deal I made with your father. He wanted you to learn from your mistakes and I agreed with him. Unfortunately, your family will pay the price for that." Cold shrugged. "Do not despair though, if your mate is as bright as I have been told, then she may live a very long, comfortable life here. I do not share the same sadistic streak as my son and can on some level understand your apprehension at taking him up on his offer, I still do not think killing him in the manner at which you did was called for."

Vegeta shook his head. "It was more than called for." He growled under his breath. 

"We will decide that later on," Cold said with a glare. "Until then, I will leave you in the care of Doctor Gero. He has been almost more excited about your arrival than I was. You have leave, Gero. See that he is kept alive, I need him for trial and sentencing. You may have use of a regeneration tank as required."

Vegeta's stomach dropped at hearing that. So was he to be this freak's science experiment until Bulma and Trunks arrived and they decided to begin trial then? On the up side, he was a frail old man. Maybe despite his energy depletion, all he would have to do is wait until there was no android around and take him out easily.  

-0-0-0- 

As Bulma focused her thoughts and finally broke through Vegeta’s mental barrier, she saw a monstrous form sitting in front of him in a sort of throne room she suspected being that he was elevated and seated in a kind of large throne-like chair; she assumed that had to be King Cold.

Vegeta must have been speaking to him, as the large monster had his head tipped to the side with interest and was looking at Vegeta intently. She wished she could hear what was being said, but decided that seeing what Vegeta was seeing was better than not getting anything at all.

Bulma focused her attention on the figures beside who she still assumed was King Cold. It was hard because she was seeing things from Vegeta’s perspective and he was looking solely at King Cold.

Her focus settled on the regal, white form standing just a bit in front of Vegeta with its arms crossed and its tail periodically swaying in front of it in a leisure, almost cocky manner. Her breath hitched in her throat as she recognized it

 ** _What the hell,_** she cursed. Was that Frieza, she wondered? In his final form? How had he survived? Vegeta had said that he had severed his head and destroyed the body once he had killed him. Did he regenerate or something? "Oh, Vegeta, this isn't good, I'm so sorry." She said quietly out loud, knowing and understanding the toll it would take on him if that was indeed Frieza alive and well in the flesh.

She looked and noticed other Frieza-looking soldiers and then wondered if maybe it wasn't Frieza after all? They all kind of looked the same, however the white and purple one had a very calculating look and was looking _at_ Vegeta almost gleefully. **_No, that had to be Frieza_** , she decided.

She took in several unfamiliar faces and then one face popped out at her like a sore thumb standing next to Cold. " _Gero!_ " She exclaimed out loud. **_What the Fuck...? How the hell... What the hell is he doing there?_** Her stomach dropped and immediately she felt sick again at the sight and mere thought of him. **_This just kept getting better and better,_** she thought. 

As much as she loved and trusted Vegeta with her very life, if Gero was there overseeing things, they were both in big trouble with little hope for them. She hoped that he do wouldn't try to do that horrible memory wipe thing with Vegeta but then caught herself. **_Of course he would!_** If it means causing hurt and pain and anguish to another being stuck in his filthy clutches, then of course he would do it! 

New resolve flowed through her that she absolutely _needed_ to find a way out of there, find a way to get to Vegeta and get him out; she most certainly could not leave Vegeta in Gero’s care. As far as she was concerned, Doctor Gero was even worse than Frieza.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**_Butterflies and Hurricanes_ **

**_Chapter 18_ **

 

Bulma was still observing Vegeta through the bond and the longer she observed, the more she really wished she could have heard what was going on as well, in fact she would have preferred to hear what was being said and not be able to see anything than see everything and not hear anything.

Vegeta hadn’t remained with Cold and his company for much longer when he was lead back to the lab and the small sterile room he had woken up in.

The Ice-jin that looked like Frieza pushed him into the small room, not undoing his hand cuffs and Gero said something briefly to him before shutting and presumably locking the door. 

-0-0-0-  

Vegeta stood there a moment, taking in his surroundings. The walls and floor were shiny white or some smooth structure he was not sure what they were made of, but they were cold and once again, he missed not having his boots and was thankful of his choice in thermal flight suit; though despite the protection to all of his major extremities, his bare hands and feet were beginning to feel numb at this point. So numb that he almost could not feel his lower legs.

After walking the small perimeter of the room and noting that there indeed was no weakness in it that he could use to his advantage at this point, so far as he could tell, he sat down and leaned against the wall; he needed to think.

His mind began to race; however he was so tired that his thoughts wandered from one thing to the next and he found himself beginning to become more and more agitated. He took a breath and sat there a moment with his eyes closed and his head against the cold wall and tried to clear his thoughts. Rest was what he needed; he needed to rest enough to at least regain his mental faculties, Gero would be returning soon.

He let down his mental wall then, reaching out to her. He was expecting her to be angry and lash out at him for blocking her when she had specifically asked him not to and he had told her that he wouldn’t and then seconds later had done just that. Instead of anger, she responded immediately to him and clung to him and embraced his presence.

 ** _How bad is it?_** She asked, her tone laced with concern and held no trace of resentment.

**_Gero is there, isn’t he?_ **

**_How do you know that?_** He asked.

 ** _Don’t be mad, but I was trying to get in on what was going on with you,_** she admitted, hoping he wouldn’t fly off the handle at her intruding. **_I couldn’t hear anything, I only saw what you could see and even that was somewhat limited. I saw Gero, Frieza and I am assuming King Cold was the big guy?_**  

While he did not want her privy to what may happen, her presence within him brought him some comfort and he found himself hard pressed to reprimand her. The only reason he was not angry with her for attempting to get into his head was because if the roles were reversed, he would insist on going through it all with her. 

It was still different though. She didn't have the same strength and endurance he had. He had been conditioned to handle anything and everything an adversary may throw at him. She was not and while he knew she would be angry with him, depending on how bad things got, he wouldn't subject her to it no matter how much she fought him on it. His pride would not allow it. 

 ** _So can you tell me why Gero and Frieza are there?_** She asked.

 ** _That is not Frieza, it is an android Ice-jin made in his image, only stronger and more powerful and seemingly unbeatable; there were hundreds of them, they took us all out._** He answered in a defeated tone. **_If it had been Frieza, I could have handled it. They killed Kakarott; one of them wrapped itself around him and self-destructed. Kakarott did not even have a chance._**

 ** _I know, I heard. I’m so sorry, Vegeta,_** she said soothingly, her sadness for her friend’s death and for what it would put Chi-Chi through hitting her hard again.

 ** _Stupid, fool,_** Vegeta growled, though she could feel that he was more sad than angry. **_He ascended. That was why he insisted on coming with me instead of remaining with you like I had asked._**

**_He probably just thought he could help and that if he’d ascended that he could make a difference, Vegeta._ **

**_I can appreciate that, but he did not inform me of his ascension until we had already lost._** Vegeta said and she could tell he was angry now. **_The stupid fool! He kept it from me; instead of coming forward with it after our departure so that we could train and improve on it, he kept it to himself until all was lost. I surrendered myself and the idiot clown showed up in some heroic attempt and chose that time to reveal it._**

**_I’m sorry, Vegeta._ **

**_It would have made no difference anyway,_** he scoffed.

 ** _Well, I’m still glad it’s not Frieza, but what’s Gero doing there?_** She asked, changing the subject, wanting to know what was happening with Vegeta. Gero’s possible involvement was what scared her the most at this point.

 ** _I don't fully know,_** he replied ** _. I did not kill him when I saw him on Frieza's ship because I did not know who he was. He somehow managed to escape the ship and sought Cold out after the fact and told him what happened. Now he is in Cold's confidence._**

 ** _This isn't good, Vegeta,_** she said. **_Gero is crazy. I don't even want to know what he's going to do. I vaguely remember him being very interested in Saiyan anatomy and structure. Vegeta, he is sick. Oh, god, I can't even begin to think-_**

 ** _Do not get yourself upset yet_** , he interrupted her. **_I still have to go to trial with Cold for my crimes against his son._**

 ** _Trial?_** She asked. **_So what does that all entail?_**

**_I don't know. It is nothing more than a waste of time though. They have already decided that I am guilty. Nothing will change that verdict. I only wish they would just tell me my sentence._ **

**_No, Vegeta,_** she said. **_This may be a good thing. The longer it takes, the more time we have to figure out how to get out of this._**

 ** _There is no getting out of this, Woman,_** he sighed. **_By the way, you and Trunks will be coming here apparently._**

**_Yeah, I know. I was told that._ **

**_Has my father caused you any trouble since he saw you last or given you any indication of what his plan is?_**  

 ** _No,_** she answered uneasily. **_He did say something about Trunks and I being sent to Cold as part of whatever deal they made but I don't know anything more than that._**

**_And he has still not harmed you?_ **

**N** **_o,_ **

Vegeta frowned to himself. While he was greatly relieved that his father had not committed anything against Bulma, it did not make sense. He would have assumed that he would have gone after her in some way the first chance he could. If for no other reason than because he would want to make the point that there was nothing he could do to help her.

 ** _I haven't seen him since I was thrown in here,_** she clarified, it was technically true. **_I gave him shit about betraying you._**

 ** _Do not push your luck where he is concerned,_** he warned. **_Any provocation from you will set him off. If he has not done anything to you I am sure it would not take much to make him decide to go after you. I suspect the only reason you have not been harmed is because of whatever deal he has made with Cold. Perhaps you not being harmed was one of the conditions. But do not sass him._**

 ** _I wasn't!_** She snipped defensively. **_I mean, I won't. I just thought he should know that what he has done to you is unforgivable and wrong and he should be ashamed of himself for betraying his son no matter how he feels about me. I told him he should be looking for a way to get you out instead of wasting his time with me._**

Vegeta swallowed down the boyish hope that his father may have second thoughts about his decision and find a way to go back on his arrangement he’d made with Cold but he dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. If on the off chance his father did decide to go back on this, he knew it would cost him Bulma and Trunks. He knew that and that was not something he would be alright with; if his father suddenly suffered from a pang of conscience and wanted him back, he needed to accept Bulma and Trunks as well. 

Bulma's heart sank as she caught his feelings about his father. It had been only a split second but she'd caught it and knew that she could absolutely not tell him now about his father. She buried those thoughts behind her as well as she could and hoped he would not have noticed. **_So what's this about a trial?_**

 ** _It is all bullshit,_** he scoffed. **_I am already guilty as far as Cold is concerned-_**

**_Well you did kill his son so it's not like you were framed. You are guilty._ **

**_Yes I know that!_** He snarled. **_But they have yet to determine my sentencing. I already told Cold everything and the events surrounding my actions. He does not see my killing his son for his crimes as just and therefore wants a trial to determine what he wants to do with me._**

 ** _Oh, god._** She sighed. **_I hope they don't sentence you to being a science experiment for Gero. Vegeta, there's no limit that he will not go to learn as much from you as he can!_**

**_That would not surprise me and it is apparently the plan until they begin trial. Cold has given Gero leave to do as he wishes so long as I am kept alive enough to endure a trial._ **

**_So how long until your trial?_** She asked, her own stomach clenching at the thought of what Vegeta may be subjected to within the next short while.

**_Apparently Cold wants to wait until your arrival._ **

**_My arrival? Why?_** She asked. **_What do I have to do with anything?_**

 ** _I do not know,_** he answered. **_Cold wishes to speak with you. Anything further, I don’t know._**

**_But depending on when they left, it could be three weeks at most before they get here and then another three weeks before I get there, Vegeta. That’s six weeks with Gero!_ **

**_There is nothing that can be done about it, Woman!_** He snarled, more harshly than he meant. **_Besides, he is a weak old fool. I am sure I have endured far worse during my time with Frieza._**

 ** _Gero is crazy though,_** she reminded him again. **_He is a mad scientist, you are nothing more than a specimen, something to be studied and broken down and dissected, Vegeta; he is ruthless!_**

**_Enough! Woman, he cannot possibly throw anything at me that I cannot handle, in fact I hope he does his worst._ **

**_But Vegeta-_ **

**_The more he inflicts on me, the stronger I become, remember? I will endure and I will bide my time until your arrival with the boy. Maybe then we may be able to find a way out._ **

**_Then we can leave together._ **

**W** ** _e will, Vegeta,_** she said confidently.

 ** _Hmm,_** he grunted in response after several long minutes of stretched silence between them.

 ** _Are you alright?_** She asked in concern.

 ** _Yea,_** he answered quickly. **_I am just..._**

**_You sound like you are exhausted._ **

**_I am,_** he admitted. **_That bastard android drained me of every ounce of energy. I can barely keep my eyes open._**

 ** _Well if they are leaving you alone for now, try and get some sleep,_** she advised. **_I will leave you alone._**

He was quiet, so tired he almost couldn't form a coherent thought. **_You do not have to go,_** he said quietly. **_I will be able to rest better knowing that you are still alright._**

 ** _I’m here, I won't go anywhere,_** she assured him. **_Just try to sleep. Everything with me is as okay it's going to be for the time being. I won't block you._**

 ** _Hmm,_** he grunted and she could tell he was barely awake. 

With her shoulder and arm still throbbing, Bulma closed her eyes and lay down on her side as comfortable as possible and tried to keep her thoughts quiet so as not to disturb him. Getting some rest was probably the best idea anyway.

She frowned at the king’s dead body still lying there just a few feet away from her and swallowed down a fresh wave of nausea; she sure hoped someone would come down soon if for no other reason than to remove the body and toss her some clothes. She had already given up on Brolly coming back to help her and wondered what had happened to him.

She hoped he was alright and Paragus wasn’t keeping him detained but then remembered who she was talking about. From there she began to worry about Trunks; was he still under Neesa’s care? She hoped he was alright and not in any distress or being neglected. At that thought, her stomach growled and she wondered how long it had been since she had eaten?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Paragus and two guards walked up to her. Bulma stood up, still keeping the Kings cape wrapped tightly around herself and guiltily put up a wall, blocking Vegeta. He was asleep, she reasoned and he needed to get some uninterrupted rest. Plus she did not want him to find out about his father just yet.

One of the guards tossed a pair of pants and loose fitting top to her through the bars and she grabbed it gratefully. "Where is Trunks? I want to see him." She demanded as she turned away from them and slipped into the ill-fitting clothes.

"He is fine," Paragus replied. "He is with the Prince. The maid is looking after them both."

"I still want to see him."

"And you will remain here and not make a fuss," Paragus snapped. "You hold no sway here. Until I figure out what we are doing with you, you will remain here." He said as a guard grabbed her by her upper arm and jerked her to him. 

She cried out in pain, her arm and shoulders still sore from her encounter with the king. She was then shoved into an adjacent cell and the door was closed. 

Bulma stood there and watched as the guards carefully wrapped the King up in his cape with the utmost care. "What are you going to do about him?" She asked.

"Nothing," Paragus sighed. "We will put him in his own bed chambers and let a maid find him."

"And then what?" 

"We will orchestrate it and make it appear like a struggle happened and we will decide that it was one of the palace whores he keeps around for his amusement. We will say that one of them did it; no one would be surprised."

"And what will happen to that unfortunate girl?" She asked.

"Who cares?" Paragus shrugged. "I intend to rid the palace of all of them anyway. It is absolutely revolting for the palace to be crawling with whores to serve the king."

Bulma nodded, not disagreeing with his opinion on that. "So, what? You're just going to take the throne for yourself then? Wow how fortunate for you that things turned out this way."

"I will assume the position for the time being, yes; however I have someone else in mind to rule." Paragus said. 

"And when Vegeta comes back?" She prodded. 

"My dear, your precious Prince will not be returning. I admire your faith and unwavering loyalty to him however it is done," Paragus said, leaning against her cell wall and taking his attention off the soldiers trying to get the King ready to be moved. "Your only chance of seeing him again will be if Cold's men come and collect you."

"What do you mean _if_?"

"I personally think that it's in our best interests to have you remain here," Paragus shrugged. "I am willing to make a deal with Cold that would ensure that. I am waiting for him to contact me and we will make another deal."

"But the King made a deal with him already; you can't go back on it." She pointed out. While she did not want to go to Cold, she decided it was the better of the two scenarios. At least she would be with both Trunks and Vegeta.

"The king is dead. That means his agreement with Cold is no longer binding. So as the current leader of this planet, I am well within my right to make my own agreement with Cold."

Bulma looked at him a moment. "I don't know Cold, but from what I’ve heard, he doesn't seem like the most negotiable guy."

"He has the notorious Prince Vegeta in his custody and will still be getting your son as part of the bargain; he has no reason for complaint," Paragus shrugged. "And for good measure I will send Tarble with him. Then I will be rid of the Vegeta line all together."

"If you send Trunks away and keep me here, I will not work for you." She said plainly. 

"Yes you will," he said, leaning in threateningly. "If you die then so does your precious prince."

"I'd rather die and have him die with me than stay alive knowing that he is suffering and being tortured." She said boldly, hoping he would not call her bluff. She needed to live if Vegeta was going to have a chance and she would not give up and abandon Trunks.

“We shall see,” he snorted, checking on the progress of the guards. They were about done.

“So what, I’m just going to be left down here?” she asked.

“For the time being, yes. I cannot risk you escaping.”

“Well can I at least have something to eat then?” she snorted.

“Of course!” he exclaimed in surprise. “I need you to be healthy and have all your mental faculties alert if you are to be working for us.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well in that case, can you send someone to fix my hand too?”

He frowned at her poorly bandaged hand.

“The asshole crushed it during my attempt at self-defense,” she explained. “I fixed it the best I could.”

Paragus snorted and then laughed. “What on Vegeta-sei did that fool prince see in you?” he asked between a fit of cruel laughter. “I just do not understand it; would you care to explain it to me?”

Bulma sighed in irritation. “Are you going to send someone to fix my hand or not?”

“No, I should think not.”

“But I will need it in order to do my work properly!” she objected, hoping if she put it that way, maybe he would be generous being that he did seem very interested in her working 

“You will endure, my dear,” Paragus shrugged, turning back to the soldiers who now had the king nicely wrapped up. “I will, however have a meal sent down to you.”

With no further comment, he left her standing there alone and on her own. At least she was clothed and the body of a perverted dead tyrant was no longer laying mere meters from her. She took heart in that and made herself as comfortable as possible.

She checked in on Vegeta quickly and was glad that he was still resting. 

-0-0-0-

“I hate to disturb you, but I am very anxious to begin our work together.” Gero said, walking in with the Android about a half hour after his previous departure.

“Do not touch me!” Vegeta snarled as the Android yanked him up onto his feet.

“Now, before I get into the more important questions, tell me more of Bulma,” Gero demanded.  

There is nothing pertaining to her that you need to know.”

“There is a great deal I need to know,” Gero replied. “I was very excited to see the results of what kind of child you two produced; it looks like not all my hopes are lost. As she and your son will be joining us shortly. You claim to have undone everything that I had accomplished with her before?”

“Yes,” he growled.

"So I am to assume the two of you have reconciled then?" He asked with a look that made Vegeta wonder what he was really fishing for.

"Yes." 

" _Completely?_ " He asked, looking very pleased with the notion.

"Yes, completely! What are you getting at?"

"Well she should be on her way here within the week," Gero said slowly, the creepy grin on his face deepening, making Vegeta's stomach turn. "There wouldn't be a chance that she would be pregnant again, would there? If she was but you weren't aware before you left it will be apparent by the time she arrives here, approximately four weeks from now." Gero blabbered in an excited tone, mostly thinking out loud to himself.

Vegeta grit his teeth in anger. "There is absolutely _no_ chance she is with child." He spat.

"I thought you said you two were reconciled." Gero objected.

"We are." Vegeta sneered, taking great delight in Gero's disappointment. "The woman is barren, you fool."

"What? Are you certain?" Gero asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him.

"One hundred percent," Vegeta nodded. "The carrying and delivery of a Saiyan infant is no easy feat, in fact many Saiyan Women do not survive the birthing process and die as the child rips itself out of the womb if labor takes too long; it is nothing short of a miracle that Bulma survived at all. If I had not had the foresight to insist on her having the child on a technologically advanced planet that specializes only in the birthing of brats, she most certainly would have died of the complications. However, the process still left her severely scarred on the inside, enough that she is unable to bear a child ever again."

"You lie!" Gero snapped.

"I do not," Vegeta replied, shaking his head. Of course, it wasn't true but Gero did not have to know that. However it had been a close thing. So close that the doctors had advised him that conceiving another child with Bulma would be extremely risky and that she would have to be steadily monitored throughout the entire pregnancy, not just the final few weeks. "So you can kiss your hopes of another half-Saiyan brat to study good bye."

Gero glared at Vegeta a moment before waving his hand in dismissal. "No matter. The son you two have already produced will have to suffice, I suppose."

Vegeta growled at him. 

 ** _Vegeta, is that true?_** Bulma's voice in his mind asked. 

 ** _No,_** he replied, regretting not being more mindful of keeping her out of his head. 

**_Are you sure?_ **

**_Yes!_** He replied irritably. **_Why would I keep that information from you?_**

 ** _I don't know,_** she said quietly. 

 ** _You are perfectly fine,_** he reassured her. **_You were given a shot when we returned to Vegeta-sei. So for the time being, you are barren until it wears off. This freak does not need to know that side of it._**

“In any case, I am very excited on learning everything I can about you and your remarkable species,” Gero said, seemingly already over the possibility that Bulma was not pregnant. “I don’t even know where to start!

“During my time on Frieza’s ship, I had ample opportunity to learn much about the Saiyans; Lord Frieza had a simply incredible database on nearly every species this universe has to offer. I researched many races in my spare time but none piqued my interest as much as your race. How fortunate for me that it was the Saiyans whom Frieza had a certain fixation on, so he had nearly endless amounts of data on your kind and _you_ specifically.

“When you had been located and Bulma was brought on board, I must say I could not have been happier! You see, originally it was supposed to be Bulma, Doctor Briefs and myself all working together with Lord Frieza but it did not work out that way, somehow she slipped through the cracks and I had assumed she would never again be found, which was why her arrival was so fortunate in not only was a great mind retrieved, but what a coincidence that it was you who found her and as a result of her capture eventually brought you to us as well. Then what with her pregnant with your offspring, oh my god, it was as if everything was meant to be!” Gero ranted, walking circles around Vegeta, taking him in and looking him over with a sick scientific fascination.

“And then you had to come along and spoil it all!” he snarled.

Vegeta smirked in glee. “Well you did not learn very much, did you? A Saiyan will never leave his mate behind. Not only that, but you should have counted yourself fortunate to have survived and taken to hiding yourself away for the remainder of your pitiful existence instead of wasting all of your time and effort in pursuit of me; mark my words, you will live to regret it.”

“Oh, I know plenty about you, my _prince_ ,” he sneered, pulling out a small tablet from his lab coat and taping it so that it expanded into a small 3D screen with Vegeta’s image on it. Next to him were statistics and paragraphs of information. “I am sure you must remember when you arrived on Frieza’s ship a Ki dampening collar was put on you. It was actually engineered by your little wife!

“You do not know this, but I made a few rather minute, but essential changes to it just prior to your arrival. I did not fully trust that she was ready to see you and that perhaps she was not pretending to have succumbed to the reprogramming I had done to her; her father did not know this, but he had thought himself so clever that he believed I did not know that he was pretending. I never remedied it because I did not want to risk diminishing his natural brilliance and I had more important matters to worry about and he still did as asked, so I saw no harm in leaving the poor fool alone.

“Anyway, what she did not know was that the entire time you wore the collar, it monitored and recorded every possible thing about you: your weight, blood pressure, external physiology, energy levels, you name it!” he gloated, clapping his hands in delight. “And while yes, she did shut it off so that your potential was no longer stifled, it still was monitoring your every move and change; that Super Saiyan transformation is the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed or come across in all my years as a scientist. I must commend you for it!”

Vegeta simply nodded in reply, not happy that this individual knew so much about him.

 ** _I had no idea, Vegeta._** He heard Bulma say quietly.

“You have nothing to say?” Gero asked.

“What is there to say?”

“I would have assumed you would want to gloat and boast over abilities; they are remarkable to say the least.”

Vegeta shrugged and said nothing.

Gero glared at him a moment. "Anyway, I know I said this already but I am very looking forward to working with you and researching your race's anatomy. You being as gifted as you are, are the perfect specimen. I couldn't be happier."

"Wonderful." Vegeta deadpanned.

"Oh it will be! You and I together will accomplish great things!" Gero said, clasping his hands together before beckoning at the Android to bring escort Vegeta out of his cell and out into the lab. “We can even start now!”

The Android took hold of Vegeta’s upper arm and lead him out. “Sit,” It commanded, as they stood next to a large, metal examination chair.

“Go fuck yourself,” Vegeta snorted.

It looked questioningly at Gero, who nodded. The Android smiled and immediately, Vegeta felt his already low energy levels rapidly diminishing again. “I will make you if I have to.” It said.

Vegeta grit his teeth in anger and humiliation at being completely at their mercy. There was nothing he could do but comply at the moment. As it was, he was still exhausted and his injuries had not begun repairing themselves yet.

“I would not work against It if I were you,” Gero advised, calmly. “The collar you are currently wearing not only suppresses your ki but it prevents you from replenishing your energy supply as well.”

He glared at Gero, but took a seat nonetheless, not wanting the Android to touch him anymore.

 ** _Just do as he says, Vegeta._** Bulma said to him. She understood his refusal to cooperate with him but she also knew that Gero would only hurt him for his defiance and in his current state would be very easy for him to do; not to mention Gero would gain great satisfaction from it.

 ** _Leave me alone now,_** he replied softly, not wanting her to be privy to whatever this man wanted to inflict on him, supposedly in the name of _science_. 

**_No, Vegeta. I won’t leave you, not now._ **

**_Woman, is it not enough that I am humiliated by my own defeat and inability to have had the foresight to not only win this but keep my family safe; I get to go through whatever this deranged old fool has planned with you in my head, aware of everything as all of my weaknesses are exposed and ripped open for all to see because I am unable to defend myself!_** He argued in anger as he closed his eyes, and allowed Gero to un-cuff one of his wrists and fastened one forearm to one of the arms with a buckle.

“Smart decision; do not think of striking me, It will make your life a living hell if you do.” Gero chortled.

Vegeta said and did nothing but hold his breath as Gero fastened his other arm to the chair; he had been careless and unsympathetic to his injuries to his collarbone and shoulder and sitting in such a prim, proper position as he was only brought back the throbbing pain that had subsided somewhat, due to the cold. He watched the older man as he moved to the other side of his lab, grabbing a tray with several utensils on it and placing it on the counter tops beside him.

 ** _I get that, Vegeta, I do,_** she said quietly. She _did_ understand it; and her heart broke for him because she understood how hard this was going to be for him. Not just physically, she knew him well enough to know that he could physically withstand just about anything Gero may decide to inflict on him; but mentally and emotionally this would be devastating to him. While she saw the bond as a blessing in which it was a means that they could communicate freely and be connected to one another, she could understand how to him it would feel like a curse right now. **_But you wouldn’t leave me, would you? If it was your father harassing me I know you wouldn’t even though that would be the last thing I would ever want you to be subjected to knowing, you would insist on experiencing it and going through it with me even though it would nearly kill me to have you there._**

**_That is different._ **

**_How so, Vegeta?_** She challenged him.

**_It is My job to protect you and see you through anything you may experience whether it be good or bad; that is my role as your mate, not for you to endure and go through my troubles._ **

**_Well, from where I come from mates are supposed to support and carry each other through hard times as much as through the good times, Vegeta; maybe even more when things are bad! I may be physically unable to endure things but mentally I am strong. I cannot walk in there and bust you out on my own, but I can be there with you mentally through this bond we have and I can keep you strong that way. Do not shut me out! I don’t care how bad it is, let me be there for you as you would be for me._ **

“Now, first things first,” Gero mumbled, walking up to Vegeta with a pair of scissors. Vegeta watched him warily as he randomly grabbed a long, spiked chunk of his hair and cut it off close to the scalp.

“Hey! That will not grow back!” he snarled in outrage, watching Gero place the large chunk of his hair into a sterile container and labeling it.

“I only took one of the spikes on the back off, no one will notice,” Gero sighed. “Wait, what do you mean it will not grow back?” he asked in interest, turning to look at him.

Vegeta cringed, realizing he had just voluntarily given him more information about him, even though it was more trivial than anything; however any piece of information that furthered the progress of his “research” was not good in his point of view. “It means that it will not grow back.” he deadpanned.

“Hmm,” Gero grunted, turning back to his newest specimen and writing a few notes on the lid. “Interesting; is that the reason for the receding hairline at such a young age? You are only twenty-two if my statistics about you are correct. Is it common for Saiyans to experience hair loss at a young age?”

“It is _not_ hair loss!” he growled. “I was _born_ with my hairline, you insipid fool! If you knew anything at all, you would know that my hairline is the mark of _royalty_. Over twenty generations of kings before me had the mark of the royalty!”

“I see, once again, there is that arrogance I have heard so much about.” Gero nodded, adding more notes to his collection of data.

A moment later he forced Vegeta’s mouth open to take a throat swab; he tried to look into his mouth and examine his teeth, but Vegeta did not cooperate with him. “I will perform a full examination on you one way or another, you know.” Gero said, coming up to him once again with a pair of scissors and began cutting off his fight suit. First at the collar around the neck, down to his chest and then began cutting the sleeves up the length of his arm so that they lay open.

The coolness of the room attacked his exposed skin and he repressed the natural reaction to shiver; he did not want to give or show him anything.

 ** _I cannot have you see me this way,_** he finally answered her. **_I cannot endure your crying and pity should this escalate into the unthinkable._**

 ** _I won’t cry, Vegeta; give me some credit at least,_** she huffed. **_I can’t promise I won’t pity you because how could I not? But I will remain as positive and up building as I can; and on top of everything, I need you with me if I am to remain strong and think my way out of this, not only for Trunks and myself, but for all of us. As cheesy as it may sound, your strength gives me strength._**

“Oh my, that is some serious bruising going on there,” Gero said in concern as he saw the black and blue bruised across his collarbone and right shoulder and along his ribs on both sides. “What did you do to him?” he asked It as he wiped Vegeta's arm with a sterile swab and injected him with a needle and attaching a large vial to it, collecting a blood sample.

Vegeta grit his teeth in suppressed anger.

“He was rather difficult to detain and required subduing.” The Android shrugged.

“I see,” Gero said nonchalantly, replacing the full vial with an empty one. 

Vegeta felt himself beginning to feel light headed from blood loss as the moments passed and the doctor continued to take sample after sample. He'd lost track after about the sixth or seventh vial. While he knew the blood loss wasn't a good thing, the doctor was distracted. Maybe he could rest for just a moment. 

"Hey," Gero barked at him, jabbing him roughly in the ribs the moment he finally dozed off. "You have to stay awake."

"Like hell I do!" he snarled as Gero switched out yet another full vial and exchanged it with an empty one.

“I have much I need to learn from you and you will answer my questions until I am satisfied.”

"Then I suppose it is going to be a very long night for you," Vegeta sighed, feigning boredom instead of letting him in on his exhaustion. “Because I am not telling you fuck all.”

"For you," Gero shrugged. "I have much to do and by the way, it's only early afternoon, my friend."

Vegeta spit at him, smirking as it landed on his bare hand. "Saiyans do not have friends, you old fool. Comrades maybe, but not friends and _you_ are most _definitely not_ a comrade.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been a full week since King Vegeta had been killed.

As planned, Paragus and a very select few council members set up his bed chambers to look as though it were an orgy that had gone _very_ wrong. They scattered torn lingerie, liquor bottles, glasses and food everywhere and made the room look in complete disarray.

Finally, they had bound the King’s arms to his bed posts and made it look as though someone had killed him in the throws of bondage bed play; his body had been fresh enough that when they cut his throat, he bled out everywhere so it looked like someone had cut his throat while in the midst of doing whatever it was they had been doing. Since his face was a mess, they decided to make it look like several girls had been involved. Of course if such a scenario had happened, he would have attempted to fight back, neck bleeding out or not and so the theory that he had been unfairly ganged up on while restrained fit perfectly with the picture they had so carefully painted.

It took about two hours after the fact for him to be discovered by one of the maids. Of course, the exact conclusion Paragus had hoped for was drawn and not a single member of the investigatory committee questioned it; it was a well-known fact that King Vegeta loved his women and his booze. Many had even commented that it had only been a matter of time before something like this had happened to him and an investigation into all of the girls in the Royal Harem had been opened.

Not surprisingly, the rest of the planet went into an immediate uproar over it. Not only had their king been slain but their Prince was being held captive by the Ice-jin. The Saiyans were left completely without order or leadership now. Panic and violence took hold of the streets in the capital.

Panic because not only were they left without a leader, but Prince Vegeta had taken all of the best warriors with him; there was no one to look after and protect the planet now that the King was gone. Therefore, riots had broken out as a result. Many looting the stores and kiosks for supplies as needed should their planet be raided by the Ice-jin.

It was grim, indeed. Never had there been unrest as this seen on the planet Vegeta-sei; not since the death of the Tuffle race anyway.

“I wish to speak with _King_ Vegeta, _not_ his advisor.” King Cold complained.

“I am sorry but the king is indisposed and currently unavailable,” Paragus said reasonably. “I can assure you that anything you relate to me I will relay directly to his highness as soon as he is available.”

“No, you will find him and bring him here so that I can speak with him directly. I have been patiently playing this little game with you for a week now, Paragus. You need to quit being a gate keeper and know when to go over your king’s head; any decent advisor knows how to decipher which matters are important and which ones are not.”

“I do not mean to interfere, but I am afraid King Vegeta is terribly busy,” Paragus said again. “The entire planet has been in an uproar since the knowledge of Prince Vegeta’s capture into your custody became household knowledge. As you can imagine, that news was most devastating and so the king has been dealing with the backlash behind that.”

“I will remain on the line until I am able to speak with him directly.” Cold insisted, unmoved by Paragus’ story.

Paragus grit his teeth in frustration. He had not anticipated Cold being so difficult to deal with. Paragus was the second in command after the king himself; speaking to him was as good as speaking to the king as far as he was concerned. “Very well, I will see what I can do.”

“See that you do,” Cold Advised. “I am not impressed that Vegeta has not contacted me since I notified him of his son’s capture.”

“I understand, however things are critical here at the moment and he has been single mindedly dealing with the citizens of Vegeta-sei.” Paragus tried again. “He is not deliberately putting you off, he is simply terribly busy.”

“I do not care,” Cold snorted. “Find him!”

Paragus nodded once and left the room with two other advisors and shut the door.

“What are we going to do?” One of them asked Paragus. “We cannot hold him off forever.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Paragus snarled.

“Why don’t we just tell him?” The other suggested. “I don’t really get what the big deal is; he is going to have to find out eventually.”

“Because the planet is already in an uproar what with the death of the king and his only capable heir in Cold’s custody! It is not his business to know that we are in the middle of a civil uprising upon epic proportions and technically without a leader at the moment; he will take advantage of us.”

“But we angering him now by not letting him speak with King Vegeta, which obviously he cannot.”

“I understand that but when he finds out that we have no king and no military worth mentioning, he will crush us!” Paragus growled. “King Vegeta has left us with nothing! He allowed his idiot, arrogant son to take all our best warriors to perish with him and left us with no defense! If he decides to come at us now, we are fucked!”

“We get that but by putting him off as we are, we risk angering him and having him come after us anyway,” the first advisor said.

Paragus nodded in agreement. “We need more time to think up something.” He paced, trying to think of another excuse to put Cold off just a little while longer. It had been only a week and already things had spun so far out of his control that he had no idea what he should do or where he should start. **_None of this is happening the way it is supposed to!_** He raged to himself. 

Brolly was still out of the equation. Paragus had sent for his grandmother the very next day and so she had shown up and had taken him back to her side of the planet. He had provided her with enough sedatives to keep him immobile for as long as possible.

At least Brolly was one less thing on his plate to keep track of.

Then there was Bulma; he had no idea what to do with her. Threatening her got him nowhere with her, as she simply refused to do anything unless she could see her son, which he refused to allow and so he was at a complete stalemate with her at the moment and at a complete loss as to what to do with her.

Unfortunately, she was a whole lot smarter than he had initially given her credit for; she knew that Cold wanted _both_ her and Trunks in his possession and that Paragus was in no position to be issuing threats so the threats that he had tried on her as way of getting her to start doing some work for him were empty at best and both of them knew it. He was beginning to understand to some degree the Prince’s fascination with her; she was highly intelligent and not afraid to speak her mind. In any other circumstances, Paragus would have found her amusing and he may have even respected her but unfortunately, all she was doing was adding unnecessary stress to this horrible situation and he hated her and her bold personality and he hated her even more that his son had gotten himself so involved with her that he had felt the need to protect her to the degree that he had. If there weren’t the threat of war, he would kill her himself and tell Cold it was the King’s doing. 

The King’s doing…

Yes! That was what he would do! If the King was not around that would mean that _He_ as advisor was in charge now and that the terms of their original agreement would be void and could be renegotiated! If he could talk Cold into not taking Bulma, then he could issue her an actual threat and carry it out. Oh, would he love to see her cocky demeanor be blown to bits when one of his men handed her the corpse of her dead son all because she refused to comply with the simple request to advance their war technology. Game time with her was over.

"Alright, here is what we will do," Paragus said suddenly after a few minutes. "We will give Cold an excuse for now,"

"But he won't go until he speaks with King Vegeta." One of them reminded him.

"Then let him remain on the line all day, that is his problem; what do I care?" Paragus snipped. "Tomorrow we will show him the footage of King Vegeta and inform him of his passing. However we will tell him we found him that way that morning."

"Do you think he'll buy it?" 

"What other choice does he have?"

The other two advisors shrugged.

"In the meantime, we need to contact all of our other planet bases and order them to evacuate and return here," Paragus said. "That way we will be protected should Cold try to take advantage of us.”

“But many of those soldiers are either third class criminals or rejects and young Saiyans not ready for battle. They are of little to no use to us.”

“Yes, I know that but there are hundreds if not a few thousand of them if we gather them all together,” Paragus said. “Put them all in the very best Saiyan armor and have them stationed at the flight deck and throughout the palace within immediate view and it will appear as though we are just as strong as ever and that our loss matters little to us.”

The two advisors considered it a moment and glanced at each other before nodding in agreement. “That’s _good_.” One of them commended him.

“Of course it is!” Paragus huffed arrogantly. “Now the both of you need to get on and contact all of the bases and order them to return here; I do not care what excuse or reasons they may have, they are to abandon absolutely everything and return here by order of the King’s right hand.

“Make sure you are _absolutely_ certain that you call them on secure and closed lines; we do not need anyone listening in and reporting back to Cold on our activities.”

“Right,” they nodded. “We will get started on that immediately. What about Cold?”

“I will deal with him for the moment,” Paragus shrugged. “What is he going to do about it from his base?”

The two advisors shrugged.

“Nothing; that’s what.” Paragus snorted and then turned to go back to deal with Cold.

“Where is King Vegeta?” Cold asked impatiently, glowering at Paragus.

“I was unable to locate him.” Paragus shrugged.

“You are supposedly Vegeta’s right hand man and you expect me to believe that you were unable to locate him?” Cold snorted.

“I am his right hand man, not his keeper.” Paragus replied coolly. He’d had enough of Cold completely and lamented for a moment how unfortunate it was that Prince Vegeta had not done away with him. “I am sure there are times when you wish to not be bothered or found by your associates.”

Cold glared at Paragus. “This is true, but I still do not believe you.”

“Then don’t,” Paragus shrugged. “You may stay on the line for as long as you wish. I will notify him that you need to speak with him immediately once I do locate him. He can either return here to speak to you or he can return your call. Regardless, I have many things to attend do as I am sure you do as well.”

“I expect him to call me the minute he is free,” Cold said. “And let your King know that if I suspect any deviation from our original agreement or any disloyalty on his end, not only will his son suffer more than necessary but so will the entire empire of Vegeta-sei.”

Paragus hid a shudder of fear at the implications of Cold’s threat and was grateful he’d had the foresight to begin evacuating the surrounding planets. If they were evacuated and Cold took them out first, it would not matter. “I will pass that along.” He said, bowing respectfully to the Icejin king.

King Cold nodded once and disconnected the transmission.

“Seyton,” Cold called to his advisor.

“Yes, my King.”

“Call the men on their way to Vegeta-sei. I know that they left earlier than needed but that maybe to our advantage. Tell them that they are to no longer delay their arrival and that they need to get there as soon as possible.”

“Right,” Seyton nodded. “I spoke with Captain Burter just yesterday and he said that they were three or four days away from Vegeta-sei. I gave them leave to doc on any one of the recreational planets to waste time as they would have been there two weeks earlier than expected otherwise.”

“That is perfect.” Cold nodded in approval. “They may head for Vegeta-sei as soon as they are able.”

“I will send the order.” Seyton nodded before excusing himself.

Cold poured himself a glass of wine and took a seat on his throne. If King Vegeta was setting him up for betrayal, he would make sure he was ready for it.

 -0-0-0-

**_How are you holding up?_** Bulma asked Vegeta. They had taken to speaking mostly first thing in the morning and at the end of the day, usually before and after Gero had spent the day tormenting Vegeta. Bulma for the most part was being neglected and only had contact with anyone when they were giving her food or when Paragus would send in one of his men to try and bargain with her to work for him. Her position was simple: Until she saw Trunks, she would not do a single moments work for them. It drove her insane because she was going crazy from boredom and the work would have been the perfect distraction to keep her mind from dwelling on everything that had happened to them, but she refused to do anything. Not until she was assured that her son was alright and being told flatly by Paragus’ lackeys “He’s fine”, was not sufficient enough for her.

On top of that she needed to see Trunks for no other reason than to feed him. Her breasts were so full of milk that they were sore and swollen; never had she been without relief because she had still been nursing him fairly regularly.

So she kept her focus on Vegeta and offered him as much encouragement as she could throughout his days, though she tried to keep her comments to a minimum because she knew he didn’t like that she was privy to everything. Even though his time with Gero was slowly becoming something out of a horror movie that she would have rather not sat through, she refused to abandon him.

**_How do you think?_** He bristled in reply.

Bulma winced at his harsh tone. **_I'm fine,_** she lied. 

**_Oh, well that makes everything better now doesn't it?_** He replied sarcastically. **_I will be able to go through my day with ease knowing that you are fine when in fact things are Not fine!  Give your head a shake! Things have not been fucking fine since I let you talk me into bringing you to Vegeta-sei! I should have listened to my instincts instead of caving to your every whim like a weak fool!_**

**_What, so this is all my fault then?_ **

**_Isn't it?_** He snarled back ** _. I waste all of my time trying to ensure yours and our son's safety and you do not take my concerns seriously. For someone who is apparently a genius you sure make some idiotic decisions from time to time! I cannot constantly be around to hold your hand! I expect that you-_**

**_Just stop,_** she said and he could tell she was trying to keep herself from getting emotional. **_I am sorry things are the way they are._**

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, trying to rein in his anger and frustrations; he was so angry, frustrated and exhausted that he could not think rationally about anything nor could he calm himself down enough to say anything comforting to Bulma. He was still _that_ angry with her and her not being able to get herself off of Vegeta-sei.

Bulma wasn’t sure what to say to him and wondered if telling him that his father was dead would possibly put him at ease. On top of that, now that some time had passed, the events that had taken place were really beginning to bother her more and more the longer she kept it to herself. While she didn’t want to trouble Vegeta with telling him about what had happened, she felt she needed to talk about it or she would go crazy.

She couldn’t close her eyes to rest without feeling his hands all over her, violating her. Anytime she moved or shifted in an attempt to make herself comfortable, it hurt. Her shoulder was still an open wound, her poor mangled hand was throbbing constantly and her ribs were still sufficiently bruised even after a whole week. No matter what she did she was reminded of her encounter with King Vegeta and it sickened her.

It was driving her border on insane. She took a deep breath, deciding that maybe she should tell him, or at least some of what happened; maybe then he would be less stressed about her safety. Bulma decided she could leave out the worst details and just tell him that his father had attempted to hurt her but was stopped and had been killed. ** _Vegeta,_**

**_What._** He replied irritably.

**_I have to tell you something about your father,_ **

**_I do not wish to hear of it._** He snapped. He assumed something had happened and she had been doing her best to keep it from him; he had sensed it the moment she had reached out to him and while a part of him desperately wanted to know, a part of him didn’t. He could not deal with it properly or console her or do anything and that sent him into another fresh fit of rage. **_Anything he may have done to you is all your own fault and you will get no sympathy from me._** The thought came before he could stop it and moment he finished that thought, he instantly regretted it. 

Bulma didn't say anything in reply. What could she say? He was right, to a point; had she gotten herself and Trunks out exactly when he had told her to go, it wouldn’t have happened. She bit her bottom lip in an effort to keep her composure and put up a wall between them. She knew he hadn’t meant it, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Vegeta balled his hand into a fist and struck the floor. Why the hell had he said that? How could he have even _thought_ such a terrible, insensitive thing? He snarled as he beat the back of his head against the wall in his room. **_Woman?_**

There was no response. **_Bulma!_**

Despair enveloped him as he was only stuck with himself and a thousand horrible thoughts and images racing through his mind at all the possible things that could have happened, none of them good.

He took a deep breath and focused on his breathing for a moment as he tried to settle himself down. If they were going to make it through this, they needed to stick together. He needed to not alienate her as he had been, he knew that. **_Then why did I do that?_** He berated himself again. Something horrible may have happened to her and he had pretty much just told her she deserved it.

“How could I?” Vegeta muttered to himself as he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, swallowing hard in an attempt to make the lump in his throat go away. His eyes burned as he fought back the moisture build up behind his eyes threatening to release; he grit his teeth until his jaw ached.

Everything was a mess. How was he going to be able to protect his family when he was like this? His whole body ached and throbbed, he was exhausted from the collar draining him. Between enduring Gero and his prodding and experimenting, and his concern over his family’s safety he knew he was losing his mind.

Vegeta knew he needed to get a grip and find his bearings; as much as he hated to admit it, he needed Bulma. Her presence was the only thing keeping him from giving up at this point. He kept his eyes closed and focused on their bond. She had a wall up and he could tell she was upset but that she was still there brought him comfort. He used that small bit of a connection to lull him into a calmer frame of mind.

Whatever his father had done, could not have been that bad, he reasoned. Bulma seemed to be okay for the most part; she was shaken up of course but alright. That was a good thing and he decided to focus on that. He hoped that nothing else would happen if his father came to her again and he asked every god and deity he had ever heard of to at least look out for hers and Trunks’ safety above all else. Forget him, he would endure. So far, while unpleasant, he had endured much worse during his service to Frieza. This was nothing. Had he known that Bulma had gotten off Vegeta-sei and was on her way to Callisto where they would he safe, he would have laughed at Gero for his efforts; he was nothing more than a senile old fool who thought he was scary and so Vegeta did not object to anything he did. He was far from cooperative, but he didn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was hurting him when he was inflicting more than usual discomfort.

Vegeta’s head snapped up as he heard the door open and in walked Gero and It.

Gero walked up to him and It jerked him up to his feet.

"I do not understand," Gero murmured to himself in exasperation after a quick examination. "It has been over a week and your injuries are still fresh. Everything according to my research indicates that you Saiyans are able to heal from injury at an accelerated rate. Why are you not healing?"

Vegeta chuckled, despite the pain in his ribs at doing so. The doctor had been becoming exceedingly grouchy and impatient with Vegeta's lack of cooperation and physical recovery.

"You know exactly why, don't you?" He asked accusingly. "Is it something you can choose to do or not do at will?"

Vegeta shrugged and shook his head in differently as though he had no clue. "You are the good doctor who knows so much about my race, you tell me."

Gero scowled at him a long moment before reaching out and gripping the left side of his collar bone and digging his thumb in where the bone was broken.

Vegeta clenched his teeth but did not make a sound, just stared defiantly back at him. In all honesty, almost his entire body was throbbing now from his injuries so he barely felt Gero's thumb digging into him. 

Annoyed that Vegeta gave him no reaction at all, he let him go and turned away. "I need you to be in full health!" 

"Maybe try putting him in a regeneration tank?" The Android suggested in a bored tone. With nothing else to do, Cold had ordered It to remain at the lab to ensure that Vegeta did not escape. 

"I thought of that, but that will waste too much time." He sighed. "Besides, I want to save it for when I will really need it."

It shrugged. "Hmmm. What about that _thing_ you've been keeping around?"

Gero frowned. "What thing?"

"That little green slug _thing_ ," It said. "Doesn't it have the ability to heal?"

"The Namek?" Gero mumbled. "I believe so, yes! Why didn't I think about that before? Quick! Go and get it, now!"

"As you wish," It nodded and left the lab. 

"I will learn everything about you," Gero said to Vegeta. "One way or another."

Vegeta didn't reply. He only hoped the old fool would somehow remedy his injuries, then maybe he would be a little stronger and be able to gain the upper hand against Gero. It would have to take careful planning and he would have to bide his time for when the Android was not around, like now. Besides, if he was to have any chance at escape, he would have to find a way to get the ki collar off or he would not stand a chance against any of the Androids should he have a run in with any of them. Gero he would be able to take out, he was nothing more than a frail old man and he could snap his neck even as he was right now.

However he was so drained he doubted he had enough energy to even attempt an escape; he didn't know his way around and if he ran into anyone of Cold's soldiers or an android, he would have no hope of escape.

**_Wait for me,_** he heard Bulma. **_I'm sure together we can get out of there._**

**_Hmmn,_** he replied, once again exhaustion hitting him and all he wanted to do was sleep.  However what little sleep Gero did let him have was unrestful being that the collar was constantly draining him of his energy; it was a vicious cycle.

He felt her send him a wave of encouragement through the bond and despite his shame over everything, he embraced it rather than recoiled from it. If they were to have a chance at making it through, they needed to draw close together, not pick at each other. A wave of guilt washed through him at the memory of some of terrible things he'd said to her not only recently, but since this nightmare had begun. 

**_I know you didn't mean it,_** she said gently. 

**_That does not make it right._** He replied.

A moment later, the Android returned carrying a small Namekian child by the scruff of its tunic, dropping it carelessly on the floor as though it were nothing.

“Heal him.” Gero commanded the small Namekian child, shoving him harshly towards Vegeta.

The Namek looked at Vegeta sympathetically before turning back to look at Gero and It.

“Heal him, _now_!” Gero barked at him impatiently.

“I’m sorry,” the Namek said quietly to Vegeta, looking at him as he put a hand on his arm.

“Do what you have to do.” Vegeta replied hoping that maybe this would not be a bad thing if his energy level was replenished and his injuries healed. Maybe then he would be able to concentrate better on plotting an exit once Bulma and Trunks made it in. 

“Excellent!” Gero chortled, running to grab his monitoring device to check on the progress of the Namek’s healing capabilities on Vegeta.

Within a few short minutes, Vegeta felt his energy return to him and his injuries completely healed. However the moment the Namekian child stepped away, he was hit with tiredness again, thanks to the draining device.

It dragged the Namekian child away before Vegeta could think to thank it or say anything to it and he wondered why it was there and what it must have endured up until now.

“Today is looking up to be a wonderful day!” Gero exclaimed. “I can study you both now! I have not had the opportunity to witness the Namek’s healing abilities until now, this is most exciting and beneficial to me!”

Vegeta suppressed a snarl. The Namek was nothing more than a child and he wondered if this was to be Trunks future within a few short weeks; was he too going to be nothing more than something to be studied like Gero was currently doing to him? The thought enraged him and renewed his resolve that he had to get his family out of here at all costs as quickly as possible.

-0-0-0-

The next day, Paragus took the initiative of contacting Cold directly himself.

“Why are _you_ calling me?” Cold asked in a bored tone. “I wish to speak with _King Vegeta_ , not his peons, or have I somehow made that request unclear to you?”

“My apologies, King Cold,” Paragus replied between clenched teeth, deeply insulted by the Icejin’s complete lack of respect. He couldn’t wait notify him that he was now the ruler of this planet and that he would have to now be respectful of him, for they were both equals now. “I took the liberty of contacting you myself at such an early hour to inform you that our great king is deceased.”

Cold blinked a few times at Paragus. “What do you mean _deceased?_ ” he asked suspiciously.

“He was discovered in his personal chambers this morning, slain by one or several of the many whores he has been known to keep in his company,” Paragus explained. “That is the assumption that was made, anyway.”

Cold did not say anything for several seconds. "So what you are telling me is you have no leadership at the moment." Cold said as he looked at Paragus.

"We are not without leadership, I am filling the position at the moment so any concerns you may have can go through me."

"How convenient," Cold huffed. 

"I may show you footage from the crime scene if you wish, I can assure you it was quite the grizzly scene," he said, holding up a picture of King Vegeta slain in his quarters. 

Cold regarded it quietly for a moment. While it certainly looked genuine, something about it didn't sit right with him. It was too sudden and much too convenient that he had been unable to get a hold of King Vegeta for an entire week and now this had happened. "I see,"

"We are still in the midst of trying to figure out what exactly happened," Paragus continued. "Therefore any matters you need to discuss, you can take them up with me. I have a few things I want to discuss with you as well."

"Oh do you, now?" Cold chuckled. "What could you possibly want to discuss with me? I will not be returning Prince Vegeta to you. I do not care if his father is dead, he will spend the remainder of his days here in my custody."

"I do not wish to renegotiate the terms where Prince Vegeta is concerned," Paragus shook his head.

Cold laughed. "My, even without worthy leadership his own people don't even want him back? That is cold."

"That may be so, but I believe it to be the best thing for this planet. I do however want to renegotiate one of the other conditions you had made with King Vegeta."

"And what is that?" Cold asked in a bored tone.

"I want his kept mate here," Paragus replied. "You can keep their son, do as you wish, I do not care about him but I am requesting that the woman remains here."

"I thought you Saiyans had issue with her?" Cold reminded him. "King Vegeta was more than happy to see her and her son sent here."

"Our interest in her has shifted somewhat," Paragus admitted. "All I ask is that you let her remain here."

Cold looked to consider it a moment. "No, the agreement made with King Vegeta for his son, mate and their child was final. That is not negotiable."

"But why?" Paragus objected. "You have Prince Vegeta, it was he who destroyed your son and you can have his son to do with as you please. What point is there in you having the woman as well?"

"The point is, she herself is somewhat responsible for the death of my son." Cold said harshly. "I require her to be present for the trial against Prince Vegeta. I want to meet her and speak to her and decide from there the extent of her involvement. Prince Vegeta killed my son because of her; that means she is just as responsible and possibly guilty as well. So no, I will not renegotiate the original terms." 

Paragus frowned at him. "I understand your desire to see justice carried out for your son but I am certain the woman had little to do with it. Prince Vegeta is not always the most sound in mind and he is very possessive of his belongings. You realize she was nothing more than another one of the palace whores?"

"Then why the sudden insistence on keeping her?" Cold asked.

"The specifics don't matter." Paragus shrugged. 

"I see, well the answer is still no. All terms of the original agreement are binding and will be kept as is. My ship and a fleet of men will be there to collect the woman and her child in three days or so.”

“I thought it would be at least another two weeks.”

“It should have been, according to my original agreement with King Vegeta, yes,” Cold shrugged. “However being as it may that I never trusted him and was becoming exceedingly concerned over his lack of communication with me, I gave my men leave to head down early to Vegeta-sei but to not arrive until I gave specific instruction. Up until yesterday, they were stationed on a recreation planet not more than four days travel from Vegeta-sei.”

Paragus clenched his teeth in anger. “That in itself is in violation of the original agreement. She is not to be collected for another two weeks yet,” he pointed out.

“Oh well,” Cold shrugged. “I want to see to Prince Vegeta’s trial and sentence as soon as possible. I have been more than reasonable and patient seeing as it was one of your own who brutally murdered my son. I have footage of it if you would like to see it for yourself; perhaps you would be a little more understanding towards my feelings on the matter.”

“I’ll pass,” Paragus said. “While I understand your position on the matter, I still request that you rethink the terms where Prince Vegeta’s mate is concerned.”

“I am afraid there is nothing further to discuss with regards to that,” Cold said with finality. “Have them ready three days from now, no tricks! If you do this, no further action will be taken against Vegeta-sei.”

“What action would need to be taken?” Paragus asked, trying to keep the alarm out of his tone.

“If I suspect any deceit or foul play, I will take out you and your whole worthless planet.” Cold threatened. “I am not convinced that King Vegeta was simply murdered just last night by one of his whores. The man has been avoiding me for _days_. I knew his resolve to hand over his son was wavering, I could _feel_ it! If I find that he is on some secret mission to come and rescue his son, make no mistake, I will act accordingly.”

“I can understand your concern, but the king is really dead under sudden, unforeseen circumstances,” Paragus interjected quickly. “Your men may come and investigate it for themselves.”

“I can assure you, they most certainly will,” Cold nodded. “In the meantime, I expect the girl and her son to be ready to go, without incident in three days’ time. Should there be any delays, excuses or pleas to deviate from the original agreement, I will crush you and your people.”

Paragus grit his teeth in an effort to hide his rage. “There will be no problem.” He said finally.

“Good.” Cold nodded and then disconnected the transmission.

Paragus smashed his fist through the video screen the second Cold disconnected. Who the hell did he think he was, thinking he could just order him around like that?

He stood there a few minutes, trying to rein in his rage before setting out and addressing the rest of the council. They had three days to make sure they were prepared for anything in the event that Cold decided to declare an all-out war on them if they were not satisfied.

Three days wasn’t very long, but Paragus was sure he could pull something together; after all, he had not survived this long as King Vegeta’s right hand man this long for no reason. He was the master at last minute manipulations and he would do everything in his power to pull this off beautifully.

He would comply without objection. Once Cold was satisfied and the Prince’s mate and child were on their way to Cold’s base, then the gloves would be off. Then Cold would be eating out of Paragus’ hand and then he would be the one in charge and calling the shots. Not quivering in fear at Cold’s threats.

Soon, very soon.

With those thoughts of confidence in mind, he set to discuss what needed to be done in preparation for Cold’s men’s visit.


	20. Chapter 20

**_Chapter 20_ **

Three days passed very quickly and to Paragus’ great relief, none of the surrounding planets had dawdled in returning to Vegeta-sei. They had all returned as quickly as possible and had brought with them any and all weapons and artillery which were currently being very carefully hidden in different parts of the capital, all within range of the palace’s landing docks.

All soldiers were immediately sent for assessment upon arrival and given to them the best elite armor and weapons available before being strategically placed so as to look as impressive as possible.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Cold’s ship of bounty hunters had contacted them to notify them that they were a few hours away. Their instructions were to retrieve Prince Vegeta’s family and leave immediately following that.

Paragus commended the cabinet members for all of their hard work and tireless efforts they had put in; most of them, Paragus included, had not taken time to rest or sleep since they had been so preoccupied with getting everything on Vegeta-sei ready. They weren’t sure if they would be under investigation for the legitimacy of King Vegeta’s death or not so they gathered all of the information they had and made sure it was readily available; they had even charged, tried and executed four girls in the harem for the murder of their king and this had surprisingly caused some of the anarchy and riots to abate a little bit, though things were still a disaster.

He made his way down to the jails where Bulma was still being kept and stubbornly refusing to work.

“How are your accommodations, my dear?” he asked her in a pleasant tone. Truthfully, now that the day was here where he would be rid of her all together, he was happy for it and grateful that Cold did not want to renegotiate the terms. If everything went according to his plan and Cold simply left them alone, he did not need her brains. Not to mention, she would be a major distraction to Brolly.

Once she was gone, he would contact his mother and tell her to let him wake up. With Bulma gone, Brolly could focus on what really mattered: taking his place on the throne as the most powerful Saiyan that ever lived.

“Oh, just wonderful, thank you,” she replied in sweet sarcasm. “What’s the deal today? You must have something important to say or offer me if you’re here and not one of your stooges.”

“I am simply here today to inform you that we are finally about to part ways, you and I.” He said politely.

“What, Cold is coming today?”

“Not him personally, but his crew who was sent to collect you and your son, yes.” Paragus nodded.

“I thought you wanted me here?”

“I did, but in light of recent events, I came to the conclusion that I really don’t need you after all,” he said casually. “I have found more than enough plans and notes in Bardok’s lab; some of which were yours by the way, that we don’t need your help. Not to mention the surrounding planets of our empire were used as storage for even more weapons and artillery than even I knew.  So you are not needed and my interest now is only in getting rid of you.”

Bulma shrugged. “Cool. Fine by me. So long as I have Trunks with me, I couldn’t care less if I never saw you again.”

“Good,” he smiled at her. “I am only too happy that we finally came to a mutual understanding on at least _something_ before your departure.”

“There’s one other thing,” Bulma said quickly and she had to resist the urge to laugh at the way his face fell at hearing that. “I am also taking Prince Tarble with me.”

“You are, are you?” Paragus asked, tipping his head in curiosity. “And what could possibly be your motive in wanting him?”

“Your daughter charged me with looking after him. I promised her I would look after him as though he was my own son. I would not leave Trunks here, therefore I will not leave him here either. Besides, he’s an orphan now. I know he has no strength to speak of so he won’t be treated fairly here despite his paternity; and it would work well in your favor because then you would be rid of the entire Vegeta line altogether. Isn’t that what you want? If I take him, then you can put anyone you want on that throne and you don’t have to worry about anyone else coming back for it. Even if by some miracle I am able to get out of King Cold’s custody, I won’t be returning here; I will take the two boys and raise them as my own someplace safe and far away. I won’t even tell them of their origins. You have my word on that.”

Paragus seriously considered it for a moment; it wasn’t a bad idea. He was going to have the child put down anyway; he was proving to be useless and the woman was right in that he was the only loose end with any claims to the throne. “Why not?” he shrugged. “You know they will probably kill him along with your son and mate anyway, right?”

“That’s a chance I am willing to take,” she replied boldly.

“Very well, do as you wish with him; it will be one less thing for me to deal with.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

“Oh, do not thank me, I could care less. I am just glad to finally be rid of you and your influence. Whatever Cold has in store for you I am sure will be sufficient sentence for all of the damage you have done here to this planet. It gives me much satisfaction to know that you will get what has been coming to you.”

“Great. Thank you for that; and I am sure you will too,” she said as sweetly as she could muster. “I don’t know about you Saiyans, but on my home planet we had a saying that went along the lines of _what goes around comes around_ and some of us believed in a little thing called karma. If it is true and does work, I pity you instead of rejoicing over your downfall when this all comes back to bite you in the ass.”

Paragas snorted at her and opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but then changed his mind. “Farewell.” Was all he said and turned to leave her abruptly.

Bulma shrugged and sat back down. She didn’t care what he thought, she was just happy to finally be getting out of there and on her way to where Vegeta was. Even if it was bad, at least they would have each other and that was enough for her. They would find a way out, she knew it.

-0-0-0-

King Cold was going over the financial statements and other important goings on throughout his empire when Seyton strolled in. “Yes,” he sighed, not taking his eyes off of his paperwork.

“It’s the Ginyu Force, my Lord,” he announced quietly. “They have breached Vegeta-sei’s atmosphere and will be landing in just a few minutes.”

“Good!” Cold grunted. “Get them on the line, I wish to speak with their commander.”

Seyton bowed and turned on the video screen where a tall, blue, lizard-like alien with red eyes appeared. "Captain Burter, leader of the Ginyu Force reporting. We are ready to land on Planet Vegeta-sei, my Lord.” He said.

"Excellent!" Cold smiled. "I want you to retrieve Prince Vegeta's mate and their child immediately. You are to bring them to the ship and ensure they are kept out of harm’s way. No one is to touch them or harm them, understand?"

"I do," Burter nodded. "They will be taken care of. We have a room available for just her and her child. They will be confined there until we return."

"Excellent. Now, this is very important. Once you have the girl and child, I want you to question Paragus, King Vegeta's former right hand, about what happened to their king. Find out everything you can," Cold said. 

"And what if they object?"

"They will not; but if they do, you will tell them it is a sign of good faith that they allow us to make some inquiry as to the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of their king and failure to comply will be seen as betrayal and a declaration of war." Cold explained harshly.

"What exactly are you wanting us to find if their king is dead though?"

"I want you to not leave Vegeta-sei without a doubt that what Paragus said happened, _actually_ happened, _exactly_ the way he claims it happened and that this isn't a hoax to hide the fact that King Vegeta did not fake his death and is not on his way at this very moment in an attempt at rescuing his son and betraying our agreement."

"You think he's not dead?" Burter asked.

"I do not believe that he is, no," Cold shook his head. "And since I cannot be there myself to verify that, I expect you and your team to figure that out for me."

"Okay so say he is dead and everything is true, then what?" he asked, looking severely confused by this point.

"Then do nothing," Cold advised. "Thank them for their cooperation in the matter and return here. If however, you discover deceit, you are to leave and notify me immediately. I will then decide what is to be done depending on the nature of your findings."

"Alright; we will not fail you my lord." Burter nodded deeply in respect. "We may be without our leader, Captain Ginyu, but we still make it our mission to maintain the integrity of the Ginyu Force and complete each mission exactly as asked."

"Right," Cold sighed in a bored tone. "Just get this done without incident and I will be thankful and you and your team will be handsomely rewarded."

"We will not disappoint." Burter bowed again and disconnected the call.

"Fools," he growled under his breath. "No wonder my son failed; he kept nothing but idiots and morons in his employ." 

"Then why did you send them on such an important mission?" Seyton asked. 

"Because it is so simple that they cannot possibly fuck it up but they are strong and the Saiyans only respect the strong. As well, the Ginyu Force has quite the reputation. No one crosses them; that’s why." 

"You are anticipating a problem still?"

"I believe I am being set up," Cold nodded, pouring himself a healthy glass of red wine. "King Vegeta was having second thoughts about the agreement with regards to his son. I believe he is planning something behind my back. Not to mention Paragus does not want to give up the girl and will not specify why. There is something going on and I do not trust those Saiyans."

"Are you sure you are not just being paranoid, my lord?" Seyton asked. "Sometimes you do have a tendency to, you know..."

Cold took a long sip of his wine, let it slosh in his mouth for a moment as he savored the flavor before swallowing it and speaking again. "I have not gotten here and stayed here in this position for as long as I have because of not being paranoid, Seyton. I would rather be overly paranoid and act on my suspicions and find out later that I was wrong, than be under paranoid and let something slide," he explained. "That is where my son failed. Frieza allowed his position and power to all go to his head and he allowed himself to become too comfortable. That is ultimately what lead to his demise."

"I am sorry, my Lord. I did not mean to question you," Seyton apologized. "So what will happen if you discover that King Vegeta did in fact fake his death and is on his way here?"

Cold smiled. "Sit back, watch and learn Seyton. Things are about to become very interesting."

Seyton nodded and took his normal seat next to Cold, who poured him a glass of wine as well.

-0-0-0-

Brolly woke up to the familiar setting of his old bedroom where he grew up at his grandmother's. _What the hell? How did I end up here?_ He wondered, looking around suspiciously. 

The last thing he remembered was he had killed King Vegeta because he had tried to hurt Bulma and he had gone to his Uncle for council. He remembered nothing after that. 

"Bulma," he muttered under his breath. How long had it been since he had seen her and told her he would be right back?  Was she alright? What about Trunks? He knew Tarble would be alright, but Trunks may be in danger. 

At that thought, he shot out of bed; he needed to get back to the capital and get Bulma and Trunks out of the palace. There was now no one to protect them, maybe he should have listened to Bulma in her plea to have gotten her out right then.

Brolly grunted as he was hit with the unpleasant sensation of vertigo and had to sit back down on his bed or he would have done a nose dive to the floor. What was wrong with him? 

He sat there a moment, trying to regain his equilibrium; the room was still spinning.

A moment later his grandma knocked on his door. "Are you alright?" She asked before opening the door a crack and poking her head in. 

"Yea, I'm just really dizzy," Brolly replied. "How did I get here?"

"Your uncle called and I picked you up last week."

"So I have been asleep for over a week?" He exclaimed, trying to stand up again but was forced to sit when the room began to spin again. 

"You need to stay here and keep a low profile until things blow over," his grandmother advised, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you have any idea the events you have put in motion?" 

"I know, but you don't understand," he said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder. "I need to get back to the capital right now."

"I thought you hated the capital and the palace and all the politics," she reminded him. 

"I did, or I do; but I have a purpose there now and I need to go back."

"What purpose do you have?" She asked. "Following the Prince's foreign woman around like a fool?"

Brolly frowned at her.

"Paragus told me all about it and how you have been fawning all over her like all the third class dogs in the capital," she said accusingly. "Now look at what has happened, what you have done because of her! What were you thinking? That she would take up with you, that maybe she would leave Prince Vegeta for you?"

"No," he shook his head and felt his face beginning to burn. Truthfully he knew she would never leave Vegeta but that did not mean he hadn't entertained the odd wishful thought about it. However that was as far as it had gone, he had never expected that of her and he was insulted that his grandmother assumed that Bulma was that fickle as to drop Prince Vegeta for him simply because they had been spending more time together. It was all innocent and not worth speculating on. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?" 

"She is not what they make her out to be. She is a kind, intelligent girl with a gentle heart. She is the Prince's mate, she is sincere in her loyalties to _only him_ and she has been left unprotected. I took it upon myself to keep an eye on her and her son until Prince Vegeta returns."

"Why? Were you instructed to watch over her in the Prince's absence?"

"No."

"Then why?" She asked again. "You should have let nature take its course with her. Eventually someone would have gotten rid of her; it may have happened already had you not been following her around and decided to play the role of gallant protector. Why would you do such a thing? And for a lowly, worthless slave no less! You are aware that Prince Vegeta had been promised to your cousin Asia and he reneged on that agreement; you are aware of that, are you not?" 

"Yes! I am aware."

"Then why does she matter? Why would you endanger yourself and your family's reputation because of this foreign girl?" She pushed.

"Because she was the first person who was kind to me and did not treat me as though I was an outsider that did not belong there!" He snarled. "No one would have anything to do with me, they all knew that Paragus is my uncle and that the queen is my cousin and that the only reason I am there is because of my family ties. Never mind that I was able to keep up in my training with the rest of them! I was still ignored and treated as an outsider and she was the only one who was not that way."

"Big deal," she shrugged. "That is the way of it; you need to toughen up. Did it occur to that she possibly was nice to you because she herself is an outsider? You were not around for the scandal that was caused when she first arrived here. She was the Prince's whore; nothing more and somehow he was stupid enough to mate with her. She is very dangerous, Brolly."

"No she isn't," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"She isn’t?" His grandmother spat. "She ensnared the Prince somehow that he still keeps her as his mate and now you killed your king because of her. She may be physically weak but she is dangerous in that she is somehow able to manipulate those around her.  That sounds to me like a very dangerous person."

"The King would have raped and killed her." Brolly said with disgust and anger once again coursing through him at the thought of it.

"So what?" She snorted. "As I already said, you should have let nature take its course."

"What was I to do, stand there and watch as he did the unthinkable?" He asked in outrage. Never had his grandmother reacted so apathetically to someone, alien or Saiyan.

"Turn the other way and left is what you should have done."

"You raised me to be honorable."

"To your fellow Saiyan, not to some foreign whore who does not even belong to you." She countered and he could see how upset she was with him over this.

"I would have assumed race and status did not matter in the matters of right and wrong!" 

"Under normal circumstances, you would be right but was it honorable to kill your king?" she asked accusingly.

"No," 

"Exactly! Your Uncle has done so much for you and gave you an amazing opportunity and you-"

"Alright! I get it!" He snarled. "It doesn't matter now, does it?" 

"I suppose not," she shrugged. "Oh well, She is gone now, thank the gods for that!"

"What do you mean she is _gone_?"

"Oh, your Uncle sent her and that disgusting half breed with Cold as part of some prior agreement the King had with Cold." She said casually. "He sent young Tarble too seeing as it's looking like the queen did not survive so there is no point keeping him. The Vegeta line is now finished and this planet can finally start fresh with better leadership. He called me a few hours ago and told me that they would be arriving shortly. She should be gone by now which is why I allowed you to wake up now."

Brolly's heart sank at the thought that Bulma and Trunks had been sent away to Cold. How could his Uncle have done that? More importantly, did Bulma think he had just abandoned her? Had she known that she would be sent to Cold and that was why she was so adamant that he get her out? She had pleaded and begged with him to let her out right after everything. 

"I should have let her out when she asked me to." He said to himself.

"No you shouldn't have!" His grandma snapped. 

"You don't know anything!" He mumbled, standing up again despite the dizziness. 

"Where are you going?" She demanded. 

"To see my uncle."

"No, you need to stay here." She said quickly, standing in the doorway, blocking him from leaving. "Until he fixes this mess you have created, you need to remain here."

"I am leaving." He said plainly. "Get out of my way."

"No." 

Brolly looked at her a moment before stepping forward, grabbing her arm and yanking her from the exit so he could leave.

"You cannot leave!" She shouted and ran to her small study room. "I promised I would keep you safe here no matter what! You may not be my son but I did raise you and I will be damned if I will lose you because you lost your good sense over a female."

Brolly frowned, ignoring her tirade as he made his way to the door. He felt bad about ignoring his grandmother's pleas but he felt that he needed to find out where Bulma, Trunks and Tarble had been taken. Maybe he could take a ship and catch up with them or maybe he could sneak up and rescue not only them but the Prince as well if he hadn't been executed by then. 

It wasn't that he cared any for Prince Vegeta but he knew that if he was alive, Bulma would not leave without him. 

As he made his way to the door, he began to feel light headed again but this time it was worse. It felt as tho something was draining him. 

Brolly leaned against the wall a moment and turned to look behind him to see his grandmother standing there with a small gray box in her hand.

He looked at it and looked at her and realization and full clarity clicked in right then. "What have you done to me?" He demanded.

"Nothing, you just need to stay here." She answered calmly. 

Brolly looked at her a moment before lunging towards her, trying to take that device out of her hands. 

She managed to move out of his way and turned another dial on it and again was hit with an overbearing feeling again of tiredness and weakness. 

Clad only in a pair of pants, he realized that it had to be something on his person that she was using against him. He knew he was still wearing one of the bracelets and a necklace that he always wore and he ripped them off. 

"No! Don't do that!" She shouted at him.

"Why?" He hissed in anger as they both shorted out once he had torn the links. "So you cannot continue to control me? How long have you been doing this to me?"

She took several steps back away from him in fear. "It, it was for your own protection."

"Protection from whom?"

"The king."

"And why?" Brolly demanded, at this point shaking with anger.

She trembled. "He, he wanted you killed as a baby. You were born with a higher, stronger power than any Saiyan in history. The king feared you would be a threat and so he ordered you to be put down. Your father brought you to me and we kept you hidden here from the king all these years. This," she said, holding up the grey box, "this is to keep your ki suppressed so that no one will find out and see your true potential. It was all for your safety."

Brolly was quiet as he considered the information, unsure of how to react. "So all these years, these expensive _gifts_ have been nothing more than a means to control me and keep my true potential locked down?" 

"Yes, but it was for your own good! If King Vegeta had found out, you and the rest of the family would have been slain!" She said. "It is him to blame for all of this!"

Brolly stepped towards her, still not sure how to take this information. "Then I am not sorry I killed him and how dare you make me feel bad for my actions! Uncle Paragus knows all about this then I take it because he's the one always so generously bestowing these expensive ‘ _gifts_ ’ upon me? I always _knew_ there was something else to it, that his _generosity_ was fake!"

"Do not be angry with him," she pleaded. "He cares more for you than anyone. He has gone above and beyond to ensure your safety. You should be grateful for him."

"I always knew that something was not right with him. He was always too persistent and overbearing in everything with regards to my growing up. It was almost like I was his son and not-" he looked at her then as another wave of realization and understanding hit him like a ton of bricks. 

She didn't say anything, just nodded in confirmation. What could she say? She knew it wasn’t the right time to be revealing all of this to him, but she didn’t want to lie to him anymore. He would have to find out some time, why not now? Not to mention it was a good distraction to keep him from dwelling on that stupid girl.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded. "And what of Asia? Does that make her my sister? And who are you then; are you my mother?"

"No," she shook her head. "I am not your mother, your mother lives in the capital with your father, Paragus."

Brolly’s face scrunched up in anger and confusion. Within just ten minutes of waking, his entire life had been turned upside down. "Have, have I ever met her?"

"No," she shook her head. "Your father told her that he carried out the King’s demand for you to be put down."

He reached for her and snatched the box from her hand. 

"Give that back!" She shouted. 

"No, I don't think so. I am finished with being controlled." He said, smashing it in his hand and walking away from her.

"Where are you going?"

"To the capital." 

"You can’t!" She objected again. "Brolly, you can be angry and upset, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but you need to stay here. Brood and vent about it here, please."

"What would be the point in that?" he asked. "If the king wanted me dead and I killed him, who is there for me to hide from? Besides, I need to speak with Paragus and find out more." Was all he said to her before storming off into the sky back towards the capital of Vegeta-sei.

He had to find out everything and once he had, he would go after Bulma and Trunks.

 -0-0-0-

The ship landed and within a few minutes Burter, Jeice, Recoome and Guldo emerged.

They were greeted by Paragus, about a dozen council members and one hundred Saiyan soldiers lined up behind Paragus.

“Greetings,” Paragus nodded respectfully. “And welcome to Vegeta-sei. I hope your journey here was not too tedious.”

“It was fine,” Burter nodded in return.

“Good, good. May I offer you and your crew some refreshment before we get down to business?”

“We will pass, thank you. We are on a very strict schedule. King Cold wants us to return immediately once we have the Prince’s family in out custody.” Burter replied.

“I understand completely,” Paragus nodded, happy that they would hopefully be leaving again in an hour or less. “I will have several guards escort you down to the holding cells where Prince Vegeta’s mate is currently being contained. I must warn you, though, she is highly intelligent and very manipulative. Do not let her out of your sight for a moment and do not let her persuade you of her innocence; I can assure you, she is as conniving as they come.”

“Thank you,” Burter nodded. “Jeice you will come with me to retrieve the prince’s mate and her son.”

“Right!” Jeice nodded enthusiastically, stepping forward and striking a ridiculous pose.

“Excellent,” Paragus nodded, gesturing at three guards to accompany them.

“Recoome and Guldo, you will remain here and question whomever is in charge about the recent death of their king.”

“ _I_ am in charge here,” Paragus snipped in offence. “The circumstances surrounding the death of King Vegeta are very sensitive and our planet is currently in mourning because of it. I ask that you respect that and save the questions for a later time.”

“No can do,” Burter replied. “Our instructions were to gather Prince Vegeta’s family and to look into the king’s death.”

“I thought you were on a strict schedule.” Paragus countered stubbornly.

“We are, so it is in your best interests to comply.” Jeice piped up. “Or you can call King Cold up yourself and hear it from him what our orders are.”

Paragus glared at them. He was thankful that he’d had the foresight to tie up all loose ends where the King was concerned. However that did not mean that he felt like going through a tedious investigation. He just wanted to get rid of the girl and begin restoring order to Planet Vegeta-sei.

“Very well,” he growled. “Come with me.” He said turning and heading into the palace with Recoome and Guldo and several of his own personal guards and fellow council members.

Burter watched them a moment before looking at the guards and nodded that he was ready to follow them. “Once we get the girl and the child, we will assist Recoome and Guldo. I don’t trust that guy.”

“No kidding!” Jeice snorted. “Who does he think he is, talking to us like that? Does he know who we are?”

“Whatever,” Burter shrugged. “The sooner we get out of here the better.”

They made their way through to the back of the palace and down a long flight of stairs into the jail cells.

“She’s in there,” one of the guards said as he handed them a key to the door. “Go and get her.”

“Alright then,” Jeice said, taking the key and strolling in. “Why hello, lovely.”

Bulma stood up and looked at them, she was sure she recognized them from somewhere. “Are you guys here to take me to Vegeta?”

“Not quite, love,” Jeice snickered. “We are here to take you to King Cold. He requests your presence.”

“Right, whatever,” she sighed. She remembered the white haired man with the orange skin now as soon as he’d spoken to her; she had bumped into him and three or four others on Frieza’s ship while Vegeta had been fighting Frieza and she had been on her way to find the docks so she could get herself off the damaged ship. “And Trunks and Tarble are coming with me too, right?”

“Dunno, I know we are taking your son with us. Anyone else, I think not. Wasn’t on the itinerary, was it, Burter?”

“Nope. Just the girl and her child.”

"Well, I'm not going anywhere without _both_ of my sons." She said boldly.

"We were only told of one son of yours."

"Well I have _two_! They're twins!" She shrieked at them. "None of these asshole Saiyans will recognize Trunks because he takes after me; whereas Tarble looks like Vegeta so no one cares. I am bringing them both with me."

Burter looked at Jeyice for guidance. "Whatever, who cares?" Jeyice shrugged. "Let her bring them both, all I care about is that the goods aren't damaged and maybe I will get a piece of that ass as a reward. Not sure I will be able to refrain though."

Burter laughed. "I will help keep you out of trouble, Jeyice. Cold was very specific that she was to not be touched or harmed."

While the blue lizard giant's massive size and intimidating looks frightened Bulma she did find herself thankful to him; for now anyway.

"I know, mate, but look at her! She's real class and a definite upgrade from anything we've got at the brothel," he sighed wistfully. "This is the one Vegeta killed Zarbon over. Remember?"

"Yea," Burter nodded. 

"So you get it then?"

"Nope," he shook his head, looking cluelessly at Bulma. "I didn't get the appeal back then and I still don't get it."

"Right, well whatever, I don't even want to know what your species finds attractive or how they... you know what? Never mind. I will be thankful that it is you who will keep me out of trouble; I will be depending on you, mate."

"Right," Butter nodded. "Let's get her offspring and let's get out of here."

They opened the cell and cuffed her and lead her out of the jails. 

Instead of taking her back to the Royal Wing to get Trunks and Tarble, they escorted her straight to the ship docks. 

"I thought we were going to get my boys?" She asked. 

"They will be brought." Burter answered. 

"Okay but why don't I help?"

"Because we don't _need_ your help, girl." Jeyice sneered. "I will go and get them while you go with Burter to the ship like a good little woman."

"There's a dog there though," Bulma objected. "He will attack you if I am not with you."

"Oh, well I'll just have to bash it's skull in then, won't I?" 

"No! Please don't!" She cried. "Just say _freund_ to him and let him sniff you. He won't do anything to you if you say that. Just don't hurt him, please."

"Hmmmm, I suppose I could do that; what's in it for me, love?" He asked, looking her over in a way that made her skin crawl. 

"Not getting your arm chewed off?" She suggested, ignoring the innuendo completely. 

"That's not a good enough incentive being that I could blast the beast the second I see him and be done with it." He shrugged. 

"I'll go!" Butter snarled. "You watch her, but don't touch her or you will spend the trip back in a regeneration tank."

**_Oh no, no, no, no,_** Bulma pleaded inwardly. 

"Hmm, it may be worth it but go, I'll be on my best behavior." Jeyice shrugged, grabbing Bulma by the elbow. "It's a bit quick for that anyway, we need to get to know each other."

Bulma scrunched her nose and turned her face away from him. She sure hoped he would keep his hands to himself. 

**_I am here_** , she heard Vegeta in her mind.

**_I know, I'm scared, Vegeta,_** she admitted. **_Do you know this guy?_**

**_He is a moron,_** he replied. **_However I do not think that he will act on anything at the moment; if he is under orders to leave you alone you should be alright, though that will not stop him from verbally harassing you. Once you are here though, you may need to watch out for him._**

**_Great,_** she sighed, unsure if she should be grateful for Vegeta's insight or not. She just wanted to be left alone; especially after what had happened with Vegeta's father.

**_Have you left yet?_ **

**_No, just leaving now. They are grabbing Trunks and Tarble._ **

**_Shit._** Vegeta sighed heavily. He had completely forgotten about Tarble.

**_What?_ **

**_Asia is on her way to Callisto with Raditz. I told her you would be there with Trunks and her son._ **

**_Oh no,_** she groaned. **_Well when we find our way out of there, hopefully they will still be there when we make it._**

**_You seem so confident that we will find our way out of this._** He said, despair evident in his tone. 

**_You don't think we can?_ **

**_No! How can we? I am imprisoned here with a Ki dampening collar. I cannot fight my way out. Not only does it block and suppress my Ki but it is draining my energy in the event that I get used to this and build up a resistance to it._ **

**_Oh my god,_** she sighed. **_You can't shut it off? If it's anything like the one I made when I was on Frieza's ship, there will be a small switch on the inside right. It's really small, so you'll have to really feel for it._**

**_You think I do not remember that and have not tried?_** He growled. 

**_Sorry,_** she said. **_When I get there, I'll have a look at it and see what I can do. There has to be some way of shutting it off or at least reducing it_** ** _s effectiveness so you can replenish your strength by some capacity_** ** _._**

Vegeta was quiet a long moment. **_Woman, where is it you think you are headed?_** He asked softly. **_This is not a vacation or a move to where we will dwell together and raise Trunks as one happy family. We are prisoners. We will not be allowed to interact or see one another, or more than likely the only interaction we will have is when they want to use one of us against the other; in which case I will not be pleased to see you._**

**_There has to be a way, Vegeta. We can assess it and figure it out once we’re there and figure out what they want from us._** She said optimistically. 

He didn't say anything again for a while. **_Just prepare yourself. The moment you arrive here they will take the boys from you and that will be the last you will see of them._**

**_Whatever. I still have the ship and all my stuff with me. So we can make a quick, easy escape._ **

**_Hmmn, we'll see._ **

**_Stop being so negative!_ **

**_I am not being negative. I am being realistic and preparing myself for the worst case scenario and you would be wise to do the same._ **

**_Alright, I get that but you're starting to scare me._ **

**_Good!_** He bristled ** _. You should be scared. I obviously did a poor job scaring you in the first place that you dawdled around for so long that you allowed yourself and our son to be taken captive._**

**_Please don't, Vegeta,_** she replied quietly, trying not to get emotional. **_I know I failed, I don’t need for you to remind me and berate me about it again and again. I already feel bad enough as it is. Right now I need to be positive. I need you to be positive if we're going to have a chance at getting out of this._**

"You are to stay in here on the trip," Jeyice said, showing her to a small room on the ship. "You will be allowed out for meals, nothing more."

Bulma looked in the room. It looked more like a jail cell than anything else; there was a narrow single bed, a small night stand and a toilet in a small, stand up shower cubicle. While it was so small she already felt claustrophobic, she was glad she would have some privacy from the rest of the crew and decided that this suited her current needs just fine.

"The door will be locked and a guard outside your door so don't even think about trying to escape. Unless you want to play a little game of cat and mouse, I won't object to that." He leered at her.

"Dream on," she rolled her eyes and walked into the room, away from Jeyice.

"Oh, you can bet that tight little ass I'm going to dream of it."

Bulma clenched her teeth and suppressed a shudder of disgust; he'd shown her to her room, could he just not get lost now?  "Thank you for showing me here, can you please leave now?"

"Well that's not very nice," he said, stepping in. "I am trying to be hospitable and here you are blowing me off."

"I'm very sorry, I am just exhausted; as you can probably figure out on your own, I've been under a lot of stress as of late." She said apologetically, not that she cared one iota about his feelings; however, she decided that staying on his good graces would be a good idea and maybe he would leave her alone.  

"Oh, right." He nodded. "Still though, you don't need to be a bitch. Stay here until Burter gets back with your brats. We will be leaving immediately and once we are in orbit, I will have a meal sent to you."

"Alright, thank you," she said stiffly as he continued to advance into her room and reach for her wrists. "What are you doing?"

"Can't risk you attacking Burter and trying to escape when he comes in," he said, uncuffing one of her wrists and cuffing the other to a metal handle in the shower. 

Bulma sighed in annoyance and then frowned at him when his close proximity became unnecessary and intrusive.

He looked her over in a very inappropriate way that made her stomach want to wretch and she cringed as far away from him as she could possibly manage. "You’re quite the frigid little bitch, aren't you?" He asked, not taking the hint to move out of her personal space.

She didn't reply. 

"It’s a shame that I am under such strict orders at the moment but don’t you worry, you and I are going to get to know each other real well." He shrugged before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Bulma sank to the floor and rested her head on the cool tile. 

**_I believe for the most part he is all talk,_** Vegeta said. **_Just try to ignore him as best you can for now. Do you still have your pendent?_** He asked.

**_No, it was crushed by someone when I was taken,_** she replied. **_Trunks and Tarble each have one. Once they are here and we are in orbit, I will see if I can find an outlet in here to charge them._**

She heard Vegeta growl to himself. **_Do that. Jeyice is strong, but not nearly as strong as I am. That charge will knock him on his ass and give you an advantage. Should you find yourself in an unsavory situation, which may happen if his advances escalate and you continue to put him off._**

**_What does that mean, Vegeta? Give in and let him have his way with me instead?_ **

**_No!_ **

**_Well then what?_ **

**_It means, should things with him get ugly, you will have the upper hand!_ **

**_Alright, I’ll get on it as soon as I can, sorry. I’m just a little irrational right now. I’m relieved that I’m leaving here where I will be closer to you and I’m terrified all at the same time. I don’t know what’s what and I don’t know what to do. Was asking to bring Tarble with me a good idea or should I be leaving him here? I don’t know!_ **

**_I don’t think bringing him with you is an any worse decision than leaving him on Vegeta-sei._** Vegeta replied. **_He has a better chance at being returned to his mother if you bring him with you._**

**_That’s what I thought,_** she said, still though, her stomach was upset from all the uncertainty at the moment.

Within a few short minutes, Burter burst into her room with two screaming infants. 

Bulma stood up in alarm; never had she heard Trunks cry like that.

"Here, take them!" Burter snapped, forcing them into her arms. "But keep them quiet or else!"

"Can you undo me, please?" She asked huffily, holding her cuffed arm up. 

Jeyice, who was behind Burter came in and undid her. "Just make sure you shut 'em up."

“I will once you give me a chance to settle them down,” she said as she placed them both down on the small bed. “Did you have any issues with the dog?”

“There was no dog,” Burter shrugged. “Just a maid and she let me take them both without question; here, she said to give you this.” He said, tossing her a diaper bag.

“Thank you,” Bulma said, picking it up. She wondered what had happened to Aro? “Now can you guys leave so I can settle them in?”

“Very well, but no funny stuff!” Jeyice threatened, shaking his finger at her as though she were a child. “One of us will return in a few hours and give you some food.”

They shut the door and Bulma sought to check on the boys immediately. They seemed alright, even though they were sufficiently distressed but she could hardly blame them.

Bulma grabbed a capsule that she’d been hiding in her shoes and decapsulated the one with Trunks’ crib and baby accessories and set it at the end of her room, which now was sufficiently cramped and left her with little floor space but she was alright with that; she had her son! That was all that mattered to her at the moment.

She placed both boys in the crib and rifled through the diaper bag Neesa had sent with Burter. There were two bottles and a thermos of formula all ready to go along with some diapers and blankets and clothing. Bulma took a blanket and swathed Tarble who was crying even louder thank Trunks.

“Sorry, bud,” she said to him. “I’m not your mum but I’ll do the best I can, just hang tight and try to get some sleep, alright?”

Bulma placed him down in the crib and quickly poured some formula into a bottle and gave it to him. Thankfully, he was more than happy with that remedy at the moment and began chugging away at his bottle.

She smiled as she picked up Trunks and held him close. “Oh, Trunks, I’m so sorry I haven’t been here my baby boy!” she cried as she wrapped him in a blanket as well and moved to sit on the bed. Once she was comfortable, she removed her top and let him feed, which he as well was more than happy with doing as he latched onto her and hungrily sucked.

She winced as his teeth dug into her, but she didn’t care; she had missed this time with him and was beyond relieved that he seemed to be alright for the most part. Neesa had taken good care of them in her absence and she wished there was a way to thank her and ask her what she’d done with Aro. She assumed nothing bad, as the girl had taken a liking to him.

A few minutes later, Trunks was fast asleep and while she wanted to hold him and never let him go, she knew she was badly in need of a shower. Bulma placed Trunks next to a sleeping Tarble who still had his bottle in his mouth even though he had fallen asleep. She smiled down at the two of them and looked at them for a moment before removing her clothes and turning on the shower.

Bulma winced as she looked at herself in the small mirror in the bathroom; her collarbone and ribs were still badly bruised a nice shade of black and blue. She turned to try and get a better look at her shoulder wound; it was still pretty open and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She could tell it wasn’t infected and that was good but it would heal into a decent scar all the way down to her mid back that was for sure. “Bastard,” she muttered to herself. Of course he had to permanently mark her. At least she could cover it up when she was wearing a shirt.

She stepped into the shower and relished the feeling of the warm water; no, it wasn’t as hot as she would have liked, but it was still a comfortable temperature and she stood there in a daze, letting the water pelt down on her and run down her body for a few minutes before reaching for a sponge and soap and began scrubbing her body almost violently.

If she couldn’t erase the memory of it, she could at least scrub the parts of her body he had touched.

Bulma found washing her hair was a particular ordeal, as her right hand was still in very bad shape and scrubbing her hair was impossible with it. After doing the best she could with one hand and rinsed out her hair, she let the warm water pour over her hand for several minutes.

She cried and winced as she carefully tried to straighten out her fingers but they were still too sore and her assessment at the moment was that the bones had begun to heal in their current position and unless they were broken and reset or someone surgically repaired them, her hand would be forever mangled.

Once she felt satisfied that she was clean enough, she got out and changed into some sweats that were in one of her capsules and checked on the two boys who were thankfully still fast asleep.

Bulma carefully picked them both up so as to not disturb them and went to the small bed in the room. She removed the thin comforter, placed them down side by side and crawled into bed next to them; she pulled the blanket over the three of them and snuggled herself in close to both of them and just looked at them until she fell asleep as well.

-0-0-0-

Hope that was alright… Have been suffering from writers block for a while now.

Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait!

_**Butterflies & Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 21** _

Brolly was almost at the capital. It had been a few hours since he had left his grandmother's place. Part of him felt guilty for flying off the handle at her the way he had and his resentment towards her had abated somewhat; however the closer he got to the capital, the angrier he grew at Paragus, or his _father_ he supposed.

Brolly still wasn't sure how to react to this information. His entire life had been turned upside down in the matter of a few minutes! He had been lied to and controlled like a pawn his whole life!

He could see the capital in the distance and knew he would be there in about a half hour now and noted gleefully how quickly he had made it; he had not known how much he has been stifled until now. His speed had increased nearly tenfold! Imagine what else he could do once he started training again.

He still wasn't sure how he would confront Paragus. Part of him wanted to just show up and knock him out but the rational side of his brain was telling him to look for some answers and an explanation first.

Brolly upped his energy and continued towards the palace in hopes that maybe they hadn't left with Bulma, Trunks and Tarble already. If he was lucky, maybe they would still be there and he could intercept Cold's ship before their departure.

-0-0-0-

What with Bulma and the two boys securely in their custody, Burter and Jeice had two of the Saiyan soldiers escort them to where Paragus was hopefully cooperating with Guldo and Recoome in the board room.

"It's already been taken care of! The investigation is closed and all I am asking now is for respect to be shown in not looking any further into this matter," Paragus said in an impatient tone. "The planet is in mourning; I have held up my end of the bargain with Cold by surrendering the girl and her child, I have even provided you with unnecessary details of what happened to our beloved King."

"We appreciate your cooperation, however King Cold is not convinced," Guildo replied unsympathetically.

"Then that is his problem because I have nothing more to disclose where the death of the king is concerned; it is time you leave, now."

"What's this about?" Jeyice asked as they walked into the board room and heard the discussion.

"He won't answer our questions." Guildo snipped, pointing accusingly at Paragus. "And he will not allow us to conduct a thorough search of the King's private office, quarters or the ship docks just in case he _is_ in fact is alive."

"The king is dead, there is no reason for you to conduct a search through our private offices and there are no more questions to be answered," Paragus argued. "It is time you all left."

Jeyice shrugged, "Other than that, are you satisfied with your findings?" he asked Guildo; he just really wanted them to be on their way already. Thoughts of Bulma flashed through his mind. The sooner they made it back, maybe the sooner she wouldn't be off limits to him.

"No, he hasn't really told us anything." Guildo said, glaring at Paragus.

"That is because there is nothing more to tell than what I have already told you and you are wasting my time as well as yours." Paragus interjected. "I thought you said you were on a tight schedule?"

"We are," Burter nodded. "However, we are also under strict orders to obtain as much information about King Vegeta's death as we are able."

"I will personally send his highness a full detailed report as soon as I am able." Paragus said, hoping that would suffice and make them go away.

"Alright," Jeyice nodded. "We will return in one hour and expect a full, detailed report to take back to Cold then; that should work."

"No, I will send it to him within the next few weeks," Paragus sighed in exasperation. "I do not have time for this at the moment!"

"Well, we will return in an hour," Jeyice shrugged. "We will talk to Cold and let him know and if he's alright with that then we will leave, but not before."

"Ya, we kind of have to take our orders from him now if you know what I mean," Recoome said.

Paragus growled at them as they left the boardroom without further comment. How was he going to pull off a full report that would be satisfactory to King Cold within an hour? Somehow he would have to do that and get everyone ready for an attack.

Treaty or not, he would destroy that ship if he felt pushed.

-0-0-0-

"So what is your opinion?" Cold asked Burter once they had reconvened back at the ship again.

"I don't really know," Burter shrugged. "Jeyice and I only came at the end and Paragus wasn't being cooperative. Guildo and Recoome were the ones who spoke with him most so I recommend you speak with one of them, my Lord."

"I can speak," Guildo piped up.

"Very well, what was your impression?" Cold asked in a bored tone.

"Well, we didn't find any evidence to support that King Vegeta is alive and on planet or on his way out to pursue you, however we didn't find any evidence to support that he isn't either," Guildo said formally. "Something definitely is not right though; he was extremely nervous and getting any information from him was like pulling teeth."

"Ya, but he said they are in mourning and that we were being insensitive with our questions," Recoome cut in. "He did show us some pictures and he said they took care of the person who did it, I think he's just still really sad."

"Shut up, you!" Guildo snarled at him. "I apologize, my Lord. He did show proof of the King's gruesome death but something is still off. He is hiding something and was wanting us to leave as quickly as possible."

"Hmmmm," Cold grunted in deep consideration. "And so you told him he has one hour to comply in proving that his story is accurate?"

"We did," Jeyice nodded proudly.

"Alright. If he manages to come through you may leave; if not, I will take that as a formal declaration of war."

"Very well, my lord," Burter said. "Jeyice and I will speak with him again in one hour and we will refer back to you."

"See that you do," Cold nodded. "You retrieved the Prince's mate and child?"

"We did, my lord," Jeice replied. "She actually has two infants, not one, so we brought back both."

"Two children?" Cold exclaimed. "Well now isn't this an interesting turn of events. So be it, I will make a decision once you return here; in the meantime, and neither of them are to be harmed in any way. You are to see to it that they are provided food and the proper accommodations."

"Already taken care of, my lord," Jeyice nodded. "They are settled in their own room right now as we speak and are being heavily guarded to ensure they do not escape."

"Very good, I will speak with you again in one hour," Cold replied. "Be thorough, the future of an entire race and planet rests in your hands." He said, shutting off the transmission.

"Bring Prince Vegeta here at once." He commanded the Android.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta was woken up from an uncomfortable and unrestful sleep by the Android and was hauled down the hall to Cold's throne room in haste without any explanation. He still didn't have any foot wear and all he was wearing was the tattered remnants of his flight suit from the waist down.

He would have fought and kicked up a fuss at the rude awakening but he was too cold, too tired, too hungry and simply too drained at this point to care about where they were taking him and why. Besides, his hands were cuffed firmly behind him anyway; he couldn't do anything even if he thought he had the slightest chance, not if he wanted to live anyway, and staying alive was what he needed to do for Bulma for the time being.

"What is your father up to?" Cold demanded without so much as a greeting as the Android effortlessly tossed him before the large Ice-jin king.

Vegeta stood up and shrugged nonchalantly, trying to control the uncontrollable shivering that had wracked his body since his arrival. "How should I know? I am here and he is there."

Cold nodded at the Android and it back handed Vegeta across the jaw, knocking him down from not only his unpreparedness of the blow but exhaustion.

"Can we try this again?" Cold sighed. "What little scheme did your father have with regards to you?"

Vegeta stood up and shrugged again. "You tell me. So far as I know, you're looking at it."

"You expect me to believe that?" He snorted and then nodded at It again and the android struck him in the jaw again, only harder this time.

Vegeta fell to the floor again, gritting his teeth in anger that he could not stand up and return the blows to the Android or to Cold himself. This was a disgrace!

"Your father was having second thoughts with regards to our agreement where you were concerned," he continued as Vegeta stood back up. "He is planning something and I am sure you are in on it. You will tell me!"

Vegeta smirked at Cold arrogantly. So his father was having second thoughts and was planning on coming after him after all? While very unexpected, he found himself moved by the notion of it. He had entertained the possibility once or twice since he had been imprisoned here but always had berated himself for even allowing himself to think something so ridiculously sentimental and uncharacteristic of his father; King Vegeta had never once shown him compassion or concern, why would he now?

Perhaps the full gravity of realizing that he had just sabotaged, betrayed and essentially signed his own son's death warrant had actually shaken him up?

Vegeta supposed he had Bulma to thank for that as well, as she had said she had reamed him out over his disloyalty to him. He now felt even guiltier for his cruel words to her since all of this had started; maybe her being captured by his father had unexpectedly worked to their advantage?

"I can honestly say I haven't a clue as to what that old man's plans are," Vegeta said. "We did not part on good terms so if he is planning something, I will be as shocked as you are."

Cold narrowed his eyes at him. "I still do not believe you."

"He detests my mate, will never accept her or my son and I refuse to have anything to do with him unless he does so that he has possibly had a change of heart is news to me," Vegeta told him. "Why don't you bring me up to speed and I will tell you then what I know of it."

"His advisor, Paragus, was trying to renegotiate our terms. He was wanting to keep your woman and give me your son." Cold said, looking suspiciously at him. "He was also trying to convince me that your father was killed by one of his many whores he likes to keep around yet for an entire week prior to this _supposed_ event, I was unable to contact him. Then conveniently I was informed that he was killed and the terms we had agreed on were supposedly up for renegotiation. Where is your father? I refuse to believe that he was killed by a few whores."

Vegeta snorted and laughed. "While I agree with you that it is highly unlikely, at the same time it would not surprise me either if one of them did end him. However, no. I know nothing about it."

Vegeta reached out to Bulma then, but she was still asleep. He remembered that she had told him a few days ago that there was something with regards to his father that she had wanted to tell him. He had cruelly lashed out at her and since then she had not mentioned anything about his father. Now, however, he was curious about what she had wanted to tell him. Maybe she knew something about whether or not his father was planning to betray Cold and coming for him or if something had actually happened to him?

Cold glared at him suspiciously. "You and your entire race," he spat. "Nothing but a nuisance and not to be trusted. You know, your father's own advisor doesn't want you back. He did not want to make any negotiations with regards to you. He only wanted your woman. Why would he attempt to make a deal like that if your father was not on his way here to betray me?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Paragus is an idiot. How should I know? I would not trust that snake further than my own nose."

"So you are saying there is a possibility?" Cold asked, narrowing his eyes.

Vegeta did not reply quick enough for Cold's liking and was rewarded with another slug to the face.

"I do not know!" He shouted in anger. "Paragus and my father both can rot in hell together at this point for all I care!"

Cold did not say anything for a minute. "That may very well be their predicament in the next few minutes unless your father's idiot advisor begins to cooperate with me."

Vegeta frowned at Cold. "Paragus is an idiot. I doubt he will cooperate with you. What will happen if he does not?"

Cold smirked at Vegeta. "Boom." He said, expanding his hand.

Vegeta felt his face blanche, his mouth go dry as his stomach dropped all at the same time. "That won't be necessary," he managed to choke out; he was thankful for the first time that Bulma and Trunks were already on Cold's ship.

"Oh, I think it is." Cold nodded. "Your race has been nothing more than a thorn in my side since we came across your miserable planet all those decades ago. Your kind does not seem to understand that they work for us. You all exist because of me. We have given you Saiyans every opportunity to fall into line and I will admit, every once in a while you do for a short time and then we need to do something drastic to remind you of your place in the universe.

"I have made deals and treaties with your father and grandfather and great grandfather over and over again in the past only to be let down and betrayed time and again," Cold said. "It is one of the reasons why I handed my control of your kind over to my son. Frieza had a way of inspiring obedience and loyalty through fear. In the beginning, when your father first took over the throne, it went over quite well. It was a good arrangement and good relations were once again established until you came along.

"I don't know what my son's obsession with you was, as far as I am concerned you are no more special than any of the rest of the vermin monkeys on your planet. However, he took a personal interest in you despite my warnings that you would bide your time and turn on him just like the rest of your race has the tendency to do. He insisted that if you grew in the right environment without your father's influence, you could be turned and made loyal to him and only him.

"Look at what you did to him; after every opportunity he extended to you because of the interest he took in you. Despite his kindness and generosity, you turned on him and killed him like a crazy dog."

"Your son needed to be stopped!" Vegeta spat, interrupting Cold. However he was given another brutal back hand to the side of the face. "Had he left me alone after my service, things could have been fine; we may have been able to co rule our sides of the galaxy without incident had he left me the hell alone and found someone else to be the object of his infatuations! You are aware of his interest in grooming me to rule as his right hand, well I would have been good enough to have kept a cordial business relationship with him-"

The Android struck him again, this time, Vegeta thought that his jaw had possibly been broken.

"Enough! I will not listen to these disgusting lies with regards to my son!" Cold Bellowed. "You betrayed him."

"It is the truth," Vegeta insisted once he was assured his jaw was not broken. "Barring his disgusting and unwanted advances towards me, his final error was going after my mate. _That_ is what signed his death warrant and I refuse to apologize for that."

Vegeta tried again to reach out to Bulma but she was still asleep. _**Woman, I need to talk to you,**_ he said urgently. _**It is regarding my father.**_

He waited a moment, hoping she had heard him but still got no response.

"In any case, I was going to do away with your entire race for good after you murdered my son but your father persuaded me that if he handed you and your mate over to me we could renew our friendly dealings. I was content with that until your father refused to speak with me once I acquired you into my custody. Paragus has been giving me the run around and given nothing but excuse after excuse. I am tired and bored and at my wits end with you Saiyans."

Vegeta felt his stomach turn. He could not allow Cold to destroy his home. "I know my mate spoke with him since my capture. Though I know nothing of him having plans to deviate from your original agreement. Let me speak with her first before you make a rash decision."

Cold was quiet a long time before shrugging. "I fail to see what difference it will make to you, being that you will never leave this place for the remainder of your days."

"Let me speak with my mate," he said, once again, prodding Bulma mentally with the hopes that she may wake up and have some useful information for him that may save his planet. _**Wake up, damnit!**_ He tried again as the sinking feeling of deeper despair began to take hold.

-0-0-0-

Brolly landed on the platform just outside the palace. He noticed a huge ship sitting and idling at the palace's ship dock and assumed that was the ship sent by King Cold to collect Bulma. He hadn't missed it and decided that was a good sign and debated a moment about whether or not to just forget Paragus and get Bulma and the boys to safety or to first deal with Paragus and then seek them out?

He really wanted to confront Paragus but wondered if it was even worth it? What did it matter? No matter what he learned about the reasons and excuses it wouldn't change anything. His whole life was still a lie up to this point. What was getting further insight going to do?

Upon further thought on it, he decided he needed answers. He did want to help Bulma and Trunks out and he would but for now they would have to wait. His whole life was in pieces. Besides, he had no clue whether or not they were on the ship yet or still in the palace. Once he got some answers of his own, he would check in on them first before going to the ship.

Brolly headed into the palace, ignoring anyone in his path as he headed towards Paragus' office. Without knocking, he walked in only to find it empty. Instead of leaving to continue on with trying to find Paragus, he decided to take a look around and see if he could find any useful information on his own.

He sifted through a variety of papers on his desk but found nothing useful pertaining to him and so he moved on to the drawers and cupboards attached to the desk with the same fruitless result.

Brolly went on and continued to rifle through many documents and files found throughout the office but still could not find anything; he should have known that Paragus would not be stupid enough to leave something like this out in the open. He was about to abandon his search and move on to find Paragus and speak to him himself. In his anger and frustration, he sent a minor ki ball at a statue of a Saiyan warrior adorning the corner of the office.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. He had not meant to make such a mess but this only served to remind him that he needed to calm himself down before seeking out Paragus; especially if he wanted answers. He went to try and clean up the mess a little bit so that debris wasn't everywhere but accidentally stumbled on a locked cabinet, hidden under a dark table cloth which had been concealed and used as a stand for the statue.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Brolly carefully blasted it open without further thought.

He held his breath as he opened it and looked in to see an abundance of paperwork.

Brolly stared at it a moment, silently deliberating. Something told him that this was it; he wasn't sure what it was, as there were still so many files and shelves he hadn't even attempted to go through in the rest of the office; yet something told him that everything he wanted to know was contained in this cabinet.

 _Don't you want to know?_ A voice in the back of his mind chided him. _You've always known there was something different about you, here's your chance!_

Did he really want to know the specifics though? What difference would it really make, in the overall grand scheme of things?

As the moments ticked by and the full safe with more paperwork and files than he had ever seen in such a small confinement almost begging to be read beckoned to him, he took a deep breath and made a decision. "Who am I?" he quietly asked himself out loud and reached for a thick file that seemed to be sticking out further than the rest in the jumbled mess.

Brolly opened it and recognized plans for the bracelet, necklaces and head bands that had been gifted to him all his life, as far back as he could remember since he was a boy. All the information behind the different gems used to keep him subdued and confined were there. Some were for wearing him out, some stifled his ki and others were used for mind control as a means of keeping him complacent and agreeable.

As he went through everything, he found documents on his growth and progress. How often the gems needed to be switched out to remain effective, even the frequencies of some of them and why he could not be exposed to some of them for long lengths of time.

Literally everything he needed to know was here in this small safe and it confirmed everything. Not only that he had been lied to and controlled his whole life but the more he read, the more he came to understand that he had also been the subject of an experiment.

What had his father been up to?

He reached in and found what looked to be a journal and opened it.

_Today marks the day of the greatest accomplishment of my life._

_The birth of my first son finally happened; he is the spitting image of his mother and born with a strength never measured before in that of a Saiyan infant. As a father, I could not be more proud. Not even King Vegeta's son, our own Prince Vegeta XIV, prophesized to be the Legendary reborn was born with a power this strong!_

_I have done my duty for my planet. With the strength of my son and that of the Prince, Vegeta-sei will rise to be great again and be free of the rule of the Ice-jin within just a few years._

_I anticipate informing the King of this miraculous event as soon as I finish this entry._

_We named the child Brolly, after the first Legendary Super Saiyan King Vegeta's loyal subject, commander and right hand all those thousands of years ago. How fitting. It is almost too perfect._

Brolly held back a wave of emotion as he read the first entry. So what his grandmother had told him was true, that he had been born with a very high power. He did not think on it long before continuing on to the next entry.

_It is with a heavy heart that I write this entry._

_It would seem that King Vegeta sees the strength and ultimate potential of Brolly as a future liability and threat to his throne. I tried to convince him that this was not true, that both his son and mine could accomplish great things together for the good of the planet but he refuses to see it that way and has demanded I execute Brolly before he has a chance to grow in strength and surpass Prince Vegeta._

_I am beside myself and have not notified my mate as of yet; there must be something that can be done._

_I must do this and provide proof of it before the council meeting first thing tomorrow morning._

The next entry was written a few days later.

_I could not do it._

_Brolly is my first born son. I have been a loyal council member and advisor to his Highness all of my adult life. I would do anything he would ask, but this… This I could not do. I know this makes me weak and a disgrace as a Saiyan to not accommodate his majesty but how could I execute my son for that which is not his fault?_

_I therefore stole him from the nursery and left him with my mother under the strictest of confidence. When I returned to the nursery to grab needed supplies and to fabricate my story for King Vegeta, there happened to be a Saiyan infant about the same age as Brolly who had passed away from whatever reason, set aside for disposal._

_Without thinking, I grabbed that infant, removed the tail and disposed of the body myself._

_King Vegeta in his arrogance and blind trust in me asked no questions, nodded in approval and merely dismissed this whole ordeal as though it was nothing. He did not even thank me for my loyalty in putting him and his throne and interests ahead of my own family; he simply acted as though this was expected of me and nothing more._

_His reaction and lack of gratitude only solidifies to me that I made the right decision in not killing my son for him._

_My mate is broken and is not aware of Brolly's continued existence and I doubt she will ever forgive me for this, however she cannot know the truth. It is for her own safety._

_Brolly is safe with my mother and they have been sent away to the other side of the planet where they will reside by themselves under the pretense that she is angry with me and the King for such harsh actions._

Brolly balled his fists as he continued to read through the diary; any remaining guilt he'd had lingering around over killing King Vegeta completely dissipated by this point.

He flipped through the diary, skimming through entries here and there; nothing of much interest came to him. There was a brief bit about Asia's birth but that was about it.

_Our queen has passed today while in childbirth._

_I cannot say I am pleased with this news, as she was honorable and everything a Saiyan queen ought to be; her presence will be greatly missed by all, for it is a shame that she was the real ruler of this planet, not Vegeta._

_Interestingly enough, the son she bore him was so weak the king did not even want to acknowledge him as his son and so he took care of the brat himself immediately before anyone else would find out and has passed it off as the infant being stillborn. Only I know of this truth as only I was present to witness such a thing._

_I must admit, I did feel the slight pang of shame as I watched my king do what I could not only eight years ago. On the other hand, I do not feel any sympathy for the man for his loss._

The next entry a few days later was an interesting one:

_King Vegeta is a complete mess. It has been nearly two weeks since the passing of our queen and he is barely hanging in there and is as insane as ever. Therefore he has appointed me as his hand for the time being._

_I shall make the most of this amazing opportunity the gods have been so generous as to grant me. I see it as my just reward for not murdering my own son at the king's request._

_The first order of business is to be rid of Prince Vegeta. Although only ten years of age, he has already proven to not only be very strong physically, but sound in mind as well; for he shows more prudence than his father already._

_Lord Frieza will be dropping by within the week and he has expressed interest in the young Prince. Perhaps I can convince his majesty that this would be to our advantage. This would permanently remove young Vegeta from the picture and make room for me to find a way to integrate my son somehow, who grows stronger every day._

_While strong, our young prince will not survive life under Lord Frieza's thumb; his arrogance and spoiled palace upbringing will be his downfall, making this almost too easy._

_-0-0-0-_

_It is done._

_Prince Vegeta is gone and the king agreed to my suggestion so easily, I almost thought he was toying with me._

_Now to bring Asia to the palace and begin her training. I have not yet decided a good way to introduce Brolly so as to not attract unwanted questions. Therefore it will be her for the time being that I must groom and shape for something great._

Brolly flipped and skimmed through some more.

_My son is beginning to become a handful. Keeping his true potential hidden is proving to be more difficult than we originally thought. I have had to do some research and found a way to hinder him; it was very expensive, more than I could afford but ultimately will save his life._

_I travelled to a far planet for this technology. It is so simple; all I have to do is get him to wear something and not only will it hide and suppress his true power, but it will alter his mind, keeping him easy to control and compliant._

_It is my expectation that once he is of age, he will join me here and he will put an end to King Vegeta's rule._

Brolly did not bother to read any of the rest of Paragus' journal. He shouted in anguish and frustration as he sat there in the trashed office unsure of what he should do or how he should react to the news. He had been hoping it wouldn't be true, even though in his gut he had always known something wasn't right with his life; on his way back he had still been hoping that it wasn't true, that maybe all these years he had just simply been paranoid.

In his frustration, he torched the safe and all of the information it contained and laughed almost maniacally. How ironic that he should be the one to destroy all of the information he had unknowingly helped his father to accumulate all these years.

Brolly stood up, almost in awe at how easily the ki flowed through him now that he wasn't impeded by anything. He turned his palm upwards and let a ki ball for effortlessly in the palm of his hand and looked at it in wonder; formulating ki was always something that he had struggled with his whole life. Growing up he had been made to feel like there had been something wrong with him that he couldn't do the simplest thing that was almost second nature to a Saiyan; even Trunks had been able to do it and he was a half breed, he had lamented in jealousy to himself more than once. That the reason for his handicap was because of his family was more than he could take at the moment.

After taking a moment, he decided to quickly check in the nursery, just in case the boys were still there and perhaps Bulma was still in the confines of the palace below. If they weren't, he would check the ship for them if it wasn't gone by then.

He made it to the nursery only to find it empty.

"They took the boys," Neesa said to him; truthfully, he hadn't even noticed her.

"Who?" he asked.

"Some soldiers that claimed they were with King Cold," she replied. "That was about a half hour ago; they still may be here. Bulma is being taken with them from what I know."

Brolly nodded, noting that the room was mostly empty. "Where's Aro?" he asked suddenly with a frown.

"I put Aro in Bulma's room shortly after she was taken," she said. "That animal is crazy, I didn't know what to do with him so I put him there and have been slipping him food daily but he's crazy and I am too afraid of him to keep looking after him."

"Thank you, I will see to him." Brolly nodded and left, heading to the Prince's quarters immediately without further deliberation.

He opened the door cautiously and whistled once, closing the door behind him.

The Shepherd was standing in the middle of the room and approached him cautiously with a slight limp on his step. He knew Brolly of course but he was always with Bulma whenever he had interacted with him.

"Hey," Brolly said to him, unsure. The dog had a kind of wild look to him; he was panting and breathing heavily and he wondered how long he'd been cooped up, no doubt worried about Bulma. It wasn't until he walked in and took notice of his surroundings that he noticed the room was completely trashed. The chairs were upturned and there were deep claw marks all along the walls and door to the balcony.

Brolly stepped further into the room and looked at the damage and winced. The door and walls on either side had been sufficiently chewed and clawed in his attempt to get out of the room. What amazed him was some of the scratches went as high as ten to twelve feet high. Guilt washed through him as he looked at him again. He had more than likely just been abandoned here since Bulma's arrest. He wondered when the last time was that the nurse maid had fed him?

Bulma had packed up everything so there would have been nothing for him to get into, no water either. While it was good that he was still alive and no one had killed him, Bulma was going to have a fit when she found out.

Brolly crouched down and offered a hand out to Aro. He was fairly confident the dog wouldn't freak out on him but he was still cautious.

Aro sniffed him and his tail wagged somewhat in recognition before he walked up to Brolly.

He reached out to touch him and was surprised to find that his coat was damp from perspiration, presumably. As he sat there a moment, calming both himself and the dog down he noticed that his paws were bleeding; he had torn most of his nails off in his clawing, scratching and climbing Brolly realized with shock.

After taking a few moments to collect his thoughts and deciding what to do next, he decided it was time to go. Aro's leash was still attached so he took it and decided to bring him with him to confront his father and then go after Bulma.

He wasn't sure what they would do, but it looked like she had packed up everything she needed. If she still had that on her and he left with Aro there would be no reason for either of them to remain here. They could either go after Vegeta or find some place safe to hide as they made a plan.

Brolly closed the door behind him and strode quickly down the hall to the board room where he hoped his father would be. He looked down at Aro, trying to remember what Bulma used to say to him to walk nicely on her side but he didn't need to. Aro was walking perfectly parallel with him on his left side as best as he could despite his sore feet.

Brolly made it into the boardroom, not pausing to knock.

Paragus was in the middle of trying to organize his affairs quickly; he needed to make sure they were prepared for an attack. He didn't like the way Cold's men had spoken to him and he didn't trust that they weren't up to something.

What right did they have to interrogate him on matters that did not concern them or even Cold for that matter?

In his panic, he did not notice Brolly walk in to the board room until he was standing just a few feet away. "Brolly, what are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.

"I know everything," he said quietly, shaking in restrained anger; just seeing the man had nearly set him off into a blind rage.

"What are you talking about?" He scoffed. "You are supposed to be at your grandmother's until I am finished dealing with this mess you have created for me." He said dismissively continuing to rifle frantically though several documents.

"You mean I am still supposed to be in a drug induced coma, hidden away and then summoned once you decide it is alright, _father_?"

At that, Paragus suddenly dropped everything and turned to Brolly, the blood drained from his face. "What did you say?"

Brolly smirked at him, his reaction confirmed that the story his grandmother had told was true. "I know everything; I know that you are my father and that you have lied to me and have controlled me my whole life. I know all of it!"

Paragus looked at him a long moment and then shrugged. "I suppose now is as good a time as any for you to find out, though I would have much preferred if it was more like a week or so from now as I don't have the time to discuss with you the specifics at this moment."

Brolly laughed at him. "Oh, I am so sorry this did not quite fit into your time schedule but I think now is a great time to discuss it. I have waited my whole life to be told."

"Exactly! So why now?" Paragus snarled. "What's another day or two? I don't have time for this right now."

"Make time," Brolly said through grit teeth, pulling out a chair and forcing him to sit. "I want you to tell me everything from the beginning."

Paragus sighed and looked at the clock. He had twenty minutes to come up with something that would make Cold's people happy and they would hopefully leave for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I am so sorry it's taken me so long! Life's been kicking me in the ass lately and I haven't had much time to sit down and write. The good news is, work is slow so I have been writing while at work on my phone (So bad, I know!) But it prolongs the process… As I have to then email it to myself and cut and paste it onto Word and then piece it together and make it flow. It makes it hard to have things not be choppy, which I feel this chapter somewhat was, but I have to move on. The good news is, I have tons of material here and there and it all just needs to be woven together seamlessly now. So please bear with me! If it takes me a bit, don't worry, I'm still here and still working on this.
> 
> And if anyone is still curious about Aro, go watch the new movie Max in theaters. That's what kind of dog Aro is based off of… (Though in my mind he's a much prettier Malinois than the one used in the movie.) But essentially, that's him and I hope to own one, one day…
> 
> Once again, thanks for your patience and sticking with me on this fic. I still have a long way to go and a lot planned!


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22** _

Brolly was still in the middle of interrogating Paragus, only becoming angrier as the minutes passed, as Paragus would not give him a straight answer on anything. He wasn't sure how he should feel; he still had so many questions he wanted answers to but the more he did find out, the more he was realizing that he was wasting precious time here instead of getting Bulma, Trunks and Tarble out of danger.

"Times up, old man." Jeyice said walking into the boardroom just as Brolly was trying to make a decision on whether or not he should leave now. "What have you got for us?"

"Nothing," Paragus replied. "I am caught up in a bit of a family dilemma at the moment, as you can see." He said, gesturing around the destroyed board room.

"Sounds like a personal problem, doesn't it, Jeyice?" Recoome chuckled.

It does, Recoome, it does," Jeyice agreed. "You see, problem with that is, we don't care about your personal issues. We are on a very tight schedule, you see. Cold was kind enough to give you an extra hour to get your shit together and now we are set back almost a half day because of this. We don't like running late and Cold is not going to be pleased."

"I have nothing further to tell you!" Paragus said angrily. "I already told you everything that you need to know! Take it back to Cold and we will discuss it at a later time. Right now, my planet is in the state of upheaval. I am sure as a ruler, he can understand my predicament in that regard so you can go on your merry way now and quit wasting all of our time. You got what you came for, now leave or I will be forced to take action against you."

"Did you hear that, Recoome? Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that was a threat." Jeyice said in mock offence.

"I was, Jeyice; totally." Recoome chuckled. "Kinda cute, coming from him. Can I step on him?"

"No, I don't think so, Recoome," Jeyice shook his head. "We will do as he asks and leave. He is right, we've got what we've come for and we will just inform Cold that we have no further details concerning the supposed death of their king. We can let him decide what to do with them. We did our job."

Brolly scowled and looked at them. "What do you need to know with regards to our _king_?" He asked, disdain dripping in his tone at the word king.

"Don't tell them anything!" Paragus hissed. "It's none of their business."

"No, please _do_ tell." Jeyice said, stepping forward in interest. "I do so like a good mystery every now and again and unfortunately this old codger won't let up and tell us how it ends."

"I will tell you anything you want concerning him, so long as you release Bulma and the two infants." Brolly replied.

"No can do I am afraid," Jeyice sighed and shrugged casually. "That little minx and her brats are destined for Cold to dispose of as he sees fit."

Brolly grit his teeth, unsure of what he should do. He wasn't aware of the situation going on between Paragus and these guys or why it would even matter to them how King Vegeta had died. He supposed he could always go after Bulma later as she would most likely be safe until they arrived at Cold's base. He had gotten a good look at their ship, he would have no problem finding it if he left a few hours later. He needed to still get more information out of his father and decide what to do with him.

"I killed him." Brolly said, deciding that if he told them what they wanted then maybe they would be on their way and he could resume his interrogation.

"Oh, so you killed him then?" Jeyice laughed hysterically. "No offense, mate, but you're one ugly whore. Isn't he Recoome?"

"Ha ha ha haaa! Maybe he cleans up nice? I like his hair." Recoome laughed.

Brolly snarled at them in disgust and sent a ki ball right above their heads. "I am not sure who you two are, but it is time to get out before I beat you to death the way I did our king. Let me tell you, there wasn't much left of him!"

Jeyice smirked. "Alrighty then, I think we have all the information we need, right Recoome?"

"I think so," Recoome shrugged, following Jeyice out of the board room. "But don't you want to know why he killed the king?"

"It doesn't matter, mate." Jeyice snorted. "What matters is that he lied and withheld information. Cold's not gonna care about anything else. I know I don't care enough to stick around and get the actual details."

"Huh," Recoome shrugged in reply, not fully understanding Jeyice's reasoning. "Bye now." He said to Paragus and Brolly as he followed Jeyice back to their ship.

-0-0-0-

"You fucking idiot!" Paragus cursed as soon as he was sure they were gone. "Why would you tell them that?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I?"

"Because they were about to _leave_ and then you had to open up your big fat mouth!" he raged. "You know how hard I have worked these past few weeks, saving your ass and covering this fuck up of yours?"

"I never asked you to cover anything up for me." Brolly replied. "Besides why would I go out of my way to protect you after everything you've done?"

"Who cares?!" Paragus snarled. "I _saved_ your miserable life! You should be grateful to me, not resenting me!"

"You lied to me my entire life!" Brolly snarled back, smashing the boardroom table in half in his rage.

"And?" Paragus huffed, pretending to not be fazed by his son's increasingly violent behavior. "If I hadn't, you would be dead; stop being so melodramatic. Perhaps one day if you are fortunate enough to find a mate and father a few brats, you will then understand my position. Until then, you have no say or opinion about anything I have done with regards to up this point in time.

"Speaking of which, it is time you came to your senses," he finished standing up and approaching him. "You have a planet to rule. What with not having to keep you under control anymore and that vile woman gone from distracting you, you can now begin to think with a clear head and do what you were made to do."

"I have no desire to rule." Brolly said, taking in his father's speech. While he agreed that he should be somewhat thankful that his father had had the foresight to spare his life as an infant, it still didn't excuse a life of lies and deception in his mind. "I only came to get some answers from you and now I will be going after Bulma, Trunks and my nephew and see that they are taken some place safe."

"I think you need to hang back here a little and take a break, son." Paragus said sincerely even though it was out of desperation. "You are not thinking straight."

"On the contrary," Brolly snorted. "I am thinking more clearly than I ever have my whole life."

"No, you aren't," Paragus insisted. "You've been under the influence of mind altering mechanisms for so long you can't think straight. It will take some time for you to be balanced again," he said carefully, walking towards him. "Until then, don't do anything rash."

Brolly narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him, while he was angry and wanted nothing more to do with him, it did make sense. After all, he couldn't commit to a single plan, his attention had been diverted so easily and his emotions had been up and down like a roller coaster since he'd left his grandmother's place.

-0-0-0-

"We still don't know what exactly happened, but it wasn't the whores who did him in, of that we are certain." Jeyice reported to Cold the moment they returned to the ship.

"Then who did it?" Cold asked.

"We don't know," Jeyice shrugged.

"That guy said he did it," Recoome said. "Remember that guy, Jeyice?"

"Yes, I remember," Jeyice hissed. "There was another person who claimed that it was he who'd done it."

"And who was this, why did they kill King Vegeta, and when did they _supposedly_ do this?" Cold asked.

"Don't know. And Paragus won't tell us anymore." Jeyice shrugged.

"He didn't even want that guy to tell us and then that guy threatened us." Recoome reminded him. "It was kind of funny."

"Oh yea, he did threaten us," Jeyice agreed. "So we just left. Can we get out of here now?"

Cold was quiet for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. "You may take your leave, yes."

"Well, well, well, look who it is, is that Vegeta, Prince of the monkeys over there?" Jeyice asked, stepping up closer and obnoxiously leaning his face into the screen.

"It is," Cold replied, glancing at Vegeta.

"Oy, mate! Long time, no see!" Jeyice chuckled. "I've got your boys and wifey with us here on the ship."

Vegeta clenched his jaw in anger as he looked at the orange man.

"Awe, don't worry, I'll take good are o them for ya," Jeyice said. "I'll make sure she's not lonely if you know what I mean, mate. I'll look after your best interests."

Vegeta snarled and was about to say something but Cold cut him off, "The woman and children are to be left alone for the time being, Jeyice."

"Oh, I know, but it's going to be a rather long three weeks. I was hoping maybe I could get your permission-"

"They are not to be touched." Cold repeated. "Your only job is to ensure that they do not escape and are delivered here."

"Yea, I know all that," Jeyice sighed in disappointment. "Thank god were getting off this lump."

"Is there anything else, my Lord, before we depart?" Burter asked.

Cold was silent a few moments longer, to the point where everyone was looking at him and wondering if he had even heard Burter.

He sat there in deep contemplation, trying to decide what to do. Destroy the planet and use the Saiyans as an example of what happens to those that cross the Ice-jin one too many times, or leave it be? Paragus was a fool and would never be able to rule properly, he reasoned; not to mention he did not trust the man to not come after him and start a war.

"You may head back, however, wait until you are at a safe distance away from the plant and destroy it." Cold said indifferently.

"Yes!" Jeyice cried, clapping. "Happy day today, mates!"

"No, wait!" Vegeta shouted almost frantically. "Do not do this."

"And why ever not?" Cold asked.

"Because we have done your dirty work for decades." Vegeta answered. "You need the Saiyan race, whether you like to admit it or not. You may take your vengeance out on me, but I implore you to leave my people alone and out of anything else. Take out that idiot Paragus if you must, he is a worthless fool, but leave the planet. Let them appoint a new leader and things will resume as they have always."

"It makes no difference anyway, Vegeta." Cold said. "The purpose of the Saiyan race has long out run its usefulness. I do not need you monkeys to do my dirty work when I have a legion of androids to do it for me and a number of other strong races willing to take your place as our right hand allies."

"Can this not wait until after my trial?" Vegeta asked quickly. Trying to think of anything that may sway Cold's decision. "You wanted to speak with my mate with the purposes of deciding my fate. Why not trust her opinion with regards to the planet and what has happened with my father if you are so concerned as to whether he is alive or not and you can see for your yourself if you have been betrayed. Jeyice. My mate is on that ship. Bring her here. I wish to speak with her."

"Awe, thanks! Does that mean you will you give us your blessing, then?" Jeyice asked hopefully.

"No!" Vegeta snarled.

"Ahh, no go then. Sorry." He snorted.

"Wait; you would trust this woman so much as to put the fate of your home, lives of your people, and the fate of your _entire_ planet in her hands?" Cold asked in genuine shock and amusement.

"I would, yes," Vegeta replied absolutely with conviction and without pause. "I would trust her with not only my life but with the lives of my entire race."

Cold regarded him a long moment in awe. "I must admit, I am speechless. Rare it is for someone to place such faith in another, a woman no less."

"She is not just any woman. She is my mate." He said firmly.

"Right, and I find myself intrigued," Cold nodded. "I very much am looking forward to meeting and speaking with her. Perhaps she can change my mind about your miserable planet of apes? My mind with you, however will not be changed. Your life is not in her hands I am afraid, but it is noble that you would entrust her with it _if_ it was on the table."

Vegeta felt himself relax somewhat at knowing that his planet wasn't in any immediate danger at the moment. He had faith that Bulma would be able to talk her way into changing Cold's mind.

"Very well, you all may leave and head back here immediately. Leave the planet alone for the time being, its fate is still yet to be decided," Cold said. "Jeyice, you are not to touch the girl, understand?"

"Yea, yea I know!" He huffed petulantly. "I'm only having a wee bit of fun with Prince Vegeta is all."

"Be sure that it is!" He said sternly, cutting the transmission.

"Thank you," Vegeta mumbled. While it nearly made him physically ill to thank or acknowledge anything even remotely positive about this whole situation to Cold, he was grateful that he was inadvertently protecting his family and that his planet still stood.

"Do not thank me," Cold snorted. "I couldn't care less if the entire Ginyu force fucked your woman on their way back. I simply need her to be in a somewhat healthy mental state when she arrives here. And as for your planet, we are more than likely just delaying the inevitable. However, I like suspense and so I will allow your woman to speak on Vegeta-sei's behalf since your father appointed a useless advisor to look after matters in his stead. You are sure she is trust worthy to tell the whole story?"

"Yes," Vegeta nodded, blocking out the horrible mental images that came from Colds insinuation. Whatever his reasons, Vegeta was still thankful that she would remain untouched and unharmed for the time being. "I can assure you that whatever she tells you, she speaks the truth. She liked my father as much as he liked her; she has no reason to protect him."

"I see," Cold nodded slowly. "In any case, I am anticipating meeting her."

Vegeta didn't say anything, just nodded again.

"You may take him back to Gero," Cold said dismissively, waving his hand aloofly at Vegeta.

The Android bowed deeply and roughly grabbed Vegeta by the arm, yanking him around and towards the exit. Once again, Vegeta did not fight him and went as requested.

-0-0-0-

"I have wasted enough time here with you," Brolly said, having calmed himself down somewhat from earlier. However, he was getting nowhere with Paragus and needed to go after Bulma and the boys quickly before the ship left.

"Why are you so intent on chasing after that which is not yours?" Paragus asked, hoping to stall him a little bit longer so that the ship would be long gone.

"It's not a matter of whether or not she's mine." Brolly answered. "I know I cannot have her, ever."

"Then why does she matter?" Paragus asked. "What are you hoping to achieve? Are you hoping Prince Vegeta will be killed soon and you can take up where he left off with the woman and her brat? If that is your line of thinking, I advise you to stop it."

"That's not what I am hoping for," Brolly shook his head violently, the feeling of guilt slicing through him that he had entertained the thought, though only selfishly. He did not wish any pain and heartbreak for Bulma, truly he didn't, nor did he wish a horrible end to his prince either; but that didn't mean that if something happened and Bulma was available that he would not take full advantage of that opportunity. "But if it does, she will need someone to protect her."

Paragus nodded and made a disgusted noise. "Of course, and how convenient for you that you may happen to be around. Let me tell you something, boy, and I suggest you listen and listen well. No matter what you do, say Prince Vegeta is executed by the end of this week and you valiantly ride in and manage to rescue her and the two brats, what do you expect after that? Sure, she may not pass because of his passing; I don't know anything about her race and how deeply she was able to bond with Vegeta, but let's for arguments sake say she pulls through that and one day comes to you like you so wish it; sure you two may be able to start a life together but keep in mind you will never take Vegeta's place.

"To her you will always be second best; no matter what you do. Is that what you want for yourself? To live in someone else's shadow? If you do bond with her, you will always be privy of any thoughts, feelings and memories she has of him. Will you be able to live with that?"

Brolly shook his head, he had never even considered that.

"Not only that," Paragus went on. "Where will you go? She is not welcome here. I will not accept her as your mate, should that happen, and neither will anyone else. She has no place here! And her son has no future! You would tie yourself down like that when you could have your pick of acceptable Saiyan women here? I tell you, as soon as you take your place, they will flock to you by the droves; you won't have time to even remember that blue haired wench, you will be so busy trying to decide which woman to take."

Brolly shook his head again. "We will not return here. We will move on elsewhere. Why would I return here? No one gave me any consideration since my arrival here, why would I want a woman who would not give me a second look until I became king?"

"Because it is the _right_ thing!" Paragus growled, wondering if this was how King Vegeta had felt in trying to reason with his own son with regards to Bulma. He didn't understand it, he really didn't.

They both heard the loud engine of the ship as it left.

Brolly's stomach dropped as he looked in the direction of the ship docks and it hit him right then how much time he had wasted. Bulma and Trunks were truly gone.

"I have to go, good bye father." Was all he said before spinning on his heel and walking out.

"What are you doing?" Paragus shouted at him.

"Going to get Bulma and the boys and getting far away from this place." Brolly said over his shoulder, not stopping to look at Paragus again. He only hoped he could quickly find a ship and pursue them all the way to Cold's. He could formulate a proper plan then. Right now, the only thing he needed to do was leave.

Paragus smashed his fist into a painting on the wall before a thought occurred to him. He needed Brolly to stay here, he could not allow him to leave in some foolish pursuit of Bulma. He quickly fished around before finding his scooter and called the commander on the shipping dock.

"Yes?"

"Shoot Colds ship down." Paragus said.

"Are you sure?" The commander asked in confusion.

Paragus thought a moment. This could be a bad move on his part, but letting Brolly leave was an even worse move; especially in the state he was in at the moment. Sure he would be angry with him, but he would get over it when he was king.

_What about King Cold?_ The deep recesses of his mind nagged. He knew by doing this it would be considered a declaration of war but at the same time, he had Brolly and a mountain of artillery and weapons at his disposal. He would deal with Cold later. Right now the smarter strategic move was to get rid of the woman. Permanently.

"Yes, positive." Paragus replied. "Do it now before they are too far away."

"Yes, sir."

-0-0-0-

Cold was still sitting in his throne room, alone with only Seyton for company.

A servant came and brought him a glass of his favorite wine. "Won't you join me for a celebratory drink?"

"What are we celebrating, exactly?" Seyton asked, taking a glass.

"My triumph over the Saiyan race." Cold said.

"My lord! We've just been hit!" Burter's voice shouted, suddenly appearing on the screen again in throne room. "Not once but _twice_ we've been shot at!"

" _What_!" Cold bellowed. "Why?"

"Don't know, sire." Burter shrugged. "What do we do?"

"Bring Prince Vegeta back in here!" Cold ordered Seyton. "Have they destroyed anything vital?"

"Not that I can tell," Burter replied. "Not yet anyway, we have the protective shields up, but we're not sure how long it will last. Shit! We've been hit again! "

"Get out of there!" Cold shouted at him.

"We should be able to make it out of the atmosphere and hopefully out of their range within a few minutes, we're doing our best, sire." Burter said, though he looked very concerned.

-0-0-0-

_**Vegeta! Something's happening!**_ Bulma's voice shrieked into his mind; he was still on his way back to Gero's lab with the Android. _**I think the ship has hit something or something has is us. It doesn't feel good.**_

_**Are you in the air?** _

_**Yes; they took off just a few minutes ago.** _

"Hey! King Cold needs to see Prince Vegeta again!" Seyton came racing down the hall after them. "Right away! Someone is attacking the ship!"

The Android shrugged and turned around back towards the throne room, dragging Vegeta with him.

_**Apparently your ship is under attack.**_ Vegeta said to her.

_**Attack? By who?** _

_**Saiyans?** _

_**But why would they attack us?** _

_**How the hell should I know?**_ He replied, trying not to betray his fear for their safety. _**I am being taken to Cold, I will find out what I can.**_

_**Oh, god. What if the ship is shot down? Vegeta I can't get out of this room!** _

_**Do not panic just yet.**_ He said to her. _**The Ice-jin have some of the most advanced protection shields on the universe that I have ever encountered. It will take a lot to bring that ship down.**_

Vegeta walked back into the throne room with the Android.

" _You!_ " Cold shouted, pointing at him. "Why are your people shooting down _my_ ship?

"How the hell should I know?" Vegeta replied in annoyance. Here he had been for three weeks now, cut off and separated from everything and anything related to his planet. Why did everyone seem to think he knew anything about what was going on over there? "My family is on that ship! Why would I know anything about that?"

"Well at this very moment, they are shooting at the ship that was sent to collect your mate!" Cold raged.

"Why don't you ask your friend, Paragus?" Vegeta suggested in a snide tone.

"King Cold," Burter cut in. "I believe that we are out of their range; the attacks have stopped. What would you like us to do? Return fire?"

"No," Cold replied, looking suspiciously at Vegeta. "Seyton, get Paragus on the line. I must speak with him _immediately_."

"Yes, my Lord." Seyton nodded, pulling up a second monitor.

"You are to exit the planet's atmosphere and when you are at a safe distance I want you to wait for further instruction from me. Just hover for now. I will call you back." He said, hanging up.

Cold was impatiently drumming his fingers on the side of his throne, waiting for someone to pick up, which no one was. The ringing kept up for several minutes before they were disconnected.

"My Lord?" Sayton asked, unsure of what to do now.

"Call them again!" Cold snarled.

Once again, they all waited for someone on Vegeta-sei to answer the call.

Vegeta stood there, holding his breath. What the fuck was going on?

-0-0-0-

Brolly ran out front to the ship docks, only to see several Saiyans shooting at the departing ship with ki cannons. "What are you doing?" he shouted at them. "Why are you shooting at them?"

"We were given the order to shoot it down," one of the soldiers replied. "Why? What's it to you?"

"Who gave the order?"

"Paragus did," The Saiyan commander in charge said, walking up to him. "Not that it has anything to do with you."

"The Prince's mate and heir are on there. King Vegeta's second heir as well!"

"We are aware, and we assume Paragus is well aware of that fact as well. Truth is, we are at his command in the King's absence." he said. "Now be gone!"

Brolly growled as he saw someone else shoot at the ship, only this time it missed. He walked up to the soldier with the cannon, yanking him away from it and smashing a fist through the cannon, destroying it.

"Hey!" the commander shouted at him, powering up.

Brolly smirked at him and did the same. "Hey yourself." He said, rushing him and ramming his fist into his stomach. He was shocked as the commander flew across the docks; he knew he'd hit him hard, but he didn't think he'd hit him _that_ hard.

He pointed a finger at the other di cannon and shot a beam at it, marveling as it exploded. Despite the shouts of protest, he left the docks to go find his own ship to take. His first instinct was to go after Paragus, but he had wasted enough time dealing with him.

It was time for him to leave.

-0-0-0-

After several attempts to get anyone from Vegeta-sei with no answer, Cold called the ship again.

"We're fine," Burter reported. "We've sustained some damage; the protective shield is toast, but any other damage is fairly minor and can wait until our return."

"Excellent," Cold nodded. "Are you clear of the planet's atmosphere?"

"We are, almost, yes."

"Good; once you are a safe distance away, I want you to follow my original instructions and destroy it."

"Are you sure?" Burter asked

"No!" Vegeta shouted, though he knew this time there would be no changing Cold's mind.

Cold ignored Vegeta. "Yes I am sure! Now do it, and I want to see it for myself!"

"Yes, my Lord." Burter said, switching the view from the pilot's room to a view outside the ship and at Vegeta-sei's retreating form.

"I told you!" Cold said to Vegeta angrily. "Your kind cannot be trusted! You Saiyan's have double crossed me for the last time. Hold him." He directed the Android, who took an even firmer hold on his arm.

"It must have been a mistake," Vegeta replied weakly, his mouth dry and he was nearly unable to breathe he could not believe this was actually happening. He wanted to do something, but was completely paralyzed by dread. He didn't even notice the Android's tightened hold on him as he longingly looked at the beautiful red planet that was his home; he was almost transfixed by it, still in disbelief that in another few minutes it would cease to exist.

"Take a good look, _prince_." Cold sneered.

Vegeta's stomach dropped as he watched the screen in abject horror as a large beam aimed towards the planet Vegeta-sei and hit it in the center of the circular planet.

-0-0-0-

Brolly managed to find a small ship that was actually fueled; the several he had tried to take had been empty. As he started it up and steered it carefully out of the hangar he noticed a large, bright light surging towards the planet.

-0-0-0-

It was calm and quiet; nothing happened and for a moment Vegeta thought that maybe it was a hoax that Cold was playing with him in order to rattle him. Unfortunately, it was real and it was actually happening as the Planet Vegeta-sei then shattered onto a million pieces and the debris shot out in every direction a moment later.

The ship seemed to become unstable and was rocking every which way from the turbulence of the blast and as the debris began to hit it, Vegeta felt an immediate weave of concern for Bulma and the boy's safety. Hopefully their ship wouldn't be destroyed by the debris.

"Idiots!" Cold cursed. "I told them to wait until they were a safe distance away!"

Had his own family's safety not been in question, Vegeta would have been laughing hysterically at the possibly that they may have destroyed their own ship. Instead, he stood there and watched the screen as the remnants of his home disintegrated into nothing more than rock and dust particles.

His mind was blank as disbelief and shock hit him like a ton of bricks. It was gone. His home was gone. Everything; his past and future, wiped out forever. Even if he did find a way out of here with Bulma and the boys, what was left for him? Nothing.

Instinctively, he reached out to Bulma.

_**Vegeta,**_ he heard Bulma's voice in his head.

_**Are you alright?**_ He asked hollowly and she knew immediately that something was seriously wrong.

_**Yea, I'm fine; well, we're all fine,**_ she replied quickly. _**The ship is all over the place, I didn't know that you could encounter bad turbulence in space. Hope that's all it is.**_ She said and then frowned to herself as she heard something strike the wall and a dent was made. _**Or not, maybe we're flying into an asteroid belt?**_

_**It's Vegeta-sei,**_ he said quietly. _**It's gone.**_

_**What do you mean gone?**_ She exclaimed, her brain still not quite processing everything, she was still rattled from being jarred awake earlier and now only a few minutes later the ship was unstable again. _**Oh, god, no. He didn't…**_

_**He did,**_ he answered.

_**I, I don't know what to say, Vegeta. I'm so sorry,**_ she said, trying to be comforting while coming to terms with her own shock. _**I know and I remember exactly what that was like; it's the worst feeling ever! I don't know what else to say other than I am so sorry you are experiencing it but you're not alone; you have me.**_

Vegeta didn't reply. He had no words; but he clung to Bulma's presence within him and the comfort she was willing to offer him. If anyone would understand how he felt at this moment, it would be her.

"Have you nothing to say?" Cold sneered, apparently disappointed from Vegeta's lack of response.

"What would you like me to say?" Vegeta asked, once his mind registered a response; his mouth was completely dry. "You just destroyed my home."

"Well, I had been hoping to get to see a glimpse of that explosive temper I've heard so much about," Cold huffed, taking in the shocked, crestfallen look on Vegeta's face. "I suppose it hasn't sunk in…"

Vegeta didn't hear the rest of what Cold said or asked of him before the Android led him back to Gero's lab. He said nothing, thought nothing and saw nothing; he just walked back numbly to the lab in a blur.

He even closed Bulma off. He needed her; she was the only one who understood but he couldn't even deal with that at the moment. The comfort she offered somehow made it worse, only confirming that it had actually happened.

He didn't hear a word Gero said to him either once they had made it back to the lab; he was chortling over something or other. Vegeta didn't care.

What was there to care about anymore? It was all over. He now had no home and was the last remaining Saiyan, unless his father had indeed been off planet and on his way here. Though he wasn't going to hold his breath on that.

He was going to die here as a science experiment and his mate and son exposed to who knows what. He wished he could at least find a way out for them.

Before he knew it, he was back in the small, cold white room and the door was closed. He hadn't heard a word Gero had said to him so he didn't know why he was back in his room and not strapped into the exam chair again, nor did he care. He just wanted to be left alone and back in the silence and solitude that surrounded him. He didn't want to talk to anyone or even think about anything.

Vegeta slid down the wall and curled into the fetal position, curling himself up into a ball on the floor, welcoming the numbness of the cold floor and wall. For the first time since his arrival there, he was grateful for the cold; it kept him from feeing anything. He couldn't feel his arms or legs, nor could he feel anything inside. He wasn't angry, he wasn't grieved. He was truly numbed to his very core and that was how he wanted it at the moment.

He could have laid there for several minutes or several hours, he wasn't sure; but as much as he craved the silence and solitude, the worse he began to feel. It was almost deafening and he found it nearly suffocating, so he grudgingly let down the wall blocking Bulma and reached out to her through the bond, hoping she was there.

Of course, she was; as he knew she would be. Never had she deliberately kept him out of her head as he had a tendency to do and for once, he was thankful for it.

Bulma didn't say anything; she only sent him feelings of comfort, reassurance, and her love. She knew there wasn't anything she could say to make him feel better or remedy this, so she didn't say anything.

She was just _there_.


	23. Chapter 23

_****_Disclaimer:_** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.** _

 

_**Chapter 23** _

It took three weeks for Bulma, Trunks and Tarble to make it to Cold's base. Both boys had settled in alright and they were both walking at this point.

Bulma had made it a top priority to wean Trunks completely from her milk in the event that they just took him from her on their arrival like Vegeta had suggested they may. She hoped with everything inside her that would not be the case, but decided it was in Trunks best interest to get him on solid foods as quickly as possible. To her disappointment, it hadn't taken that much effort; he had been more than happy to start on the solid food when offered and within the first week it had been done. It was bittersweet; on one hand she was glad because it was one less thing for her to worry about where he was concerned, on the other it just showed her how fast he was growing and maturing.

In those three weeks, Bulma had grieved privately for everyone that had been lost. It was amazing to her how much like home Vegeta-sei had become to her in such a short time. It was such a beautiful planet that she'd barely had the opportunity to explore and see and now it was gone. Chi-Chi and Goten and Penelope; her friends, gone and she had wept for them many times over the past three weeks. What about all the inhabitants who had so graciously accepted her and Trunks despite them not being Saiyan? They had not deserved this end.

And what of Brolly, she had wondered repeatedly. Over and over again she kept wondering why he had not come back for her. She had seen him as a friend and protector in Vegeta's absence. Surely he hadn't abandoned her, had he? She had thought he was sincere in his actions with regards to Trunks and herself, that they were friends. He had rescued her from hell even! So why had he not returned to help her? Had Paragus found out and had something horrible happen to him? She wouldn't have put it past him to have found out and orchestrate something horrible to have happened to Brolly to keep him from coming back to help her.

What made her even more upset was she would have taken him with her and the boys if he had gotten her out. That way she'd have had at least one protector and ally on her side until they had hopefully found Raditz and Asia. She felt sick for them too. Their home was now gone as well and Asia probably assumed her child had been killed. More then ever now, she was glad she'd had the foresight to insist on bringing Tarble with her.

They arrived on the planet Isotope sometime in the midafternoon she estimated.

She was anxious, nervous and excited to see Vegeta; even though she wasn't exactly sure if she was up to seeing Vegeta or if he would even want to see her. She had no idea what kind of shape he was in. He had taken to keeping her blocked out during his time with Gero. It bothered her but she understood that he did not want her privy to everything that happened to him. If that was what he needed to do to keep himself strong then she would not push him. Instead, she made sure she was there for him and offered him as much comfort as she could when he sought her out.

She still hadn't told him about what had happened between her and his father or that he had been killed long before Cold had destroyed Vegeta-sei. While she did feel some guilt about it, she thought it the kinder approach to not tell him. In her mind it was better for him to believe that his father had been on a mission to come after him than that he had attempted the unthinkable against her and seemed to have no qualms or regret over betraying his own son. One day, if they ever made it out of this mess, _maybe_ she'd tell him. _If the need for him to know ever comes up_ , her mind quipped up.

"True," she sighed to herself. "What Vegeta doesn't know won't hurt him and since the miserable bastard is cold and dead and hopefully burning in hell, it doesn't matter anyway what _actually_ happened to him, does it?" She had taken to talking to herself quite a bit in the last three weeks. This both comforted her and concerned her at the same time.

Bulma had just exited the shower, the bruising on her ribs had mostly gone away by this time but they were still tender to the touch and she wondered if maybe the king hadn't somehow actually cracked a few of them. If they had been simply bruised, they should not have still been causing her this much discomfort.

The long, deep scab lines on her back also remained. She only hoped that once it cleared up, they wouldn't be too noticeable; though she wasn't going to hold her breath on that, she thought with a frown as she tried to look at them over her shoulder. Thankfully they were easily hidden under a basic t shirt and Vegeta would not see them. Lastly, her poor hand was still a disaster. Any effort she had put in to trying to straighten her fingers was in vain and still caused her much pain; her mangled hand would likely remain that way for the rest of her days.

She threw her half dried hair up into a loose bun and applied some light make up so that she at least looked somewhat presentable. She didn't want to look over done, but she at least wanted to look alright for Vegeta, knowing that it would upset him if she looked like a complete mess, even if she felt like one inside. She figured she'd handled herself quite well up to this point she thought as she applied some mascara and light blush. "Good enough," she mumbled to herself. She hadn't done herself up to look like a knock out but at least she didn't look like a complete hag.

Bulma capsulated everything and tucked her capsules away in her socks where hopefully no one would think to look. Hardly anyone had come into the room since she had left and if they had it had only been for a moment and they hadn't seemed to notice the crib.

"Hey, woman," Jeyice barked as he opened the door abruptly without knocking. "You'd better be ready, we've just landed and Cold will want to see you right away."

Bulma grit her teeth in annoyance. Only Vegeta was allowed to call her _Woman_. "Yes, I'm ready and my name is Bulma, not Woman."

"Whatever, _female_." He snorted. "You're all good for one thing and one thing only so it matters little to me what your name is."

She rolled her eyes at him as she picked up her bag with all of her belongings and both boys, one in each arm.

Jeyice gave her an odd look but didn't say anything to her.

Bulma silently followed him down the hall and out of the ship. It was freezing cold and she wished she had thought to put the boys in something warmer but on second thought realized that she had no warm outfits for them or herself, really. Vegeta-sei and even Callisto were such warm planets she never needed a sweater. She hoped she could find some old sweaters stashed away from when she had been taken from Earth.

As she walked, she noticed that she wasn't all that cold; the two boys were very warm. Consequently, she hugged them closer to her, not only wanting to take in as much warmth from them as she could but if these were her last few minutes to spend with them, she wanted to make the most of it.

-0-0-0-

"King Cold requests Vegeta's presence." It announced in a bored tone as he strode into Gero's lab.

"Can you tell him to wait? I am in the middle of a very important experiment," Gero replied weaving his hand in dismissal. He was currently trying to figure out what Vegeta was allergic to, pricking him and exposing him to different things. So far, as it stood, all the tests had come back negative. This both frustrated and astounded him at the same time. It seemed that Vegeta was impervious to almost everything.

"You can tell him that yourself, however I do not think he will be too keen on waiting," It replied. "Prince Vegeta's family has landed."

Gero looked up and spun around to look at the Android. "Really? Has it actually been that long? By all means, this is wonderful! Absolutely! We shall convene immediately."

Vegeta looked up at the mention that his family was here and was overcome with the conflicting emotions of relief and dread. While a part of him wanted nothing more than to see them and see for himself that they were alive and well, another part of him almost wished they had perished on Vegeta-sei. If they had, perhaps he would have succumbed himself to the loss of grief and he would be reunited with them in the next dimension where they could remain unbothered for all eternity instead of still being used as a science experiment. Not only that, but he dreaded what his family may be facing upon their arrival. What made it worse was his inability to protect them or shelter them from whatever it was that Cold had in mind.

The Android walked up to Vegeta, checking his restraints before hauling him up on his feet and towards the door.

"I can walk well enough on my own!" He snarled at It, yanking his arm out of the Android's grip. He may be worn down, freezing cold and exhausted but he'd be damned if he'd let them drag him to Cold's throne room looking as defeated as he felt. He could not let Bulma see him that way.

The Android didn't say anything but stayed close in the attempt that Vegeta may try something.

Vegeta stood as tall as he could and marched down the hall with his head held high, holding himself as proudly as possible despite his arms being bound tightly in front of him.

-0-0-0-

"Greetings," Cold greeted Bulma with interest as soon as she walked into the large spacious throne room, fairly reminiscent in its bland interiors as Frieza's throne room had been. The lack of furnishings and shiny marble floors adding to the cold atmosphere of the room. "I am to assume that your journey here was satisfactory?"

"It was fine," Bulma nodded, looking him over warily. He was monstrous in size and in appearance compared to his son Frieza's small, compact appearance.

"Good," Cold replied, regarding her in the same curious manner. "I must admit it is nice to finally put a face to a name, my dear. I have heard rumors and stories of your beauty and influence on Prince Vegeta."

"I do not influence him, he does as he wishes," she said boldly. "Where is he?"

"He should be here momentarily, I have sent for him," Cold sighed in a bored tone. "How is it that I requested that you bring with you your son and you turn up here with two? King Vegeta said nothing of you having two sons."

Bulma had been ready for questioning with regards to Tarble. "I birthed twins, sir. Because of the close resemblance of the Vegeta line, King Vegeta took Tarble for himself and disregarded Trunks altogether."

"I see," Cold nodded. "Bring them here."

Bulma hesitated a moment before walking up to him cautiously. Both boys were awake but thankfully not fussing. She turned so that Cold could look at Tarble and hoped he would buy her story and not have him done away with. Being that the Vegeta and his father's features were so similar and so very dominant, the two boys could easily pass as brothers despite their difference in hair color.

"This one looks exactly like Vegeta, the other not so much," he commented, barely giving Trunks much more than a fleeting glance. "And they are full brothers?"

"They are," Bulma nodded confidently, boldly looking him in the eye. "Born within just a few short minutes of each other."

"And King Vegeta failed to mention the second child to me, why?"

"I don't know," Bulma shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. All I know is when they came for me, I told them I wasn't leaving unless I had both of them."

"And this matter with King Vegeta, what do you know of it?"

"What do you mean?" She asked. "You destroyed the planet for reasons which I don't know. King Vegeta is dead. That is all you need to know and thank god for it." She said bitterly.

"I destroyed Vegeta-sei because King Vegeta's advisor refused to cooperate with me and I had ample reason to suspect that King Vegeta was planning to come after me in an attempt to retrieve his son," He answered. "Among many other reasons which are of no concern to you."

"Well, it was for nothing because the king was dead for a few weeks before your men showed up to take me with them." She informed him. "You could have just gotten rid of that idiot Paragus and left everyone else alone."

"I suppose," he shrugged. "However I have grown tired of the Saiyan race and the games they like to play. It was time and well past overdue."

"You needlessly destroyed an innocent fucking planet!" She shouted, louder than she meant.

"Perhaps it was a tad over reaction," he agreed with a frown, musing to himself. "However what is done is done. The universe will be better off with only a hand full of monkeys remaining instead of a whole planet and race."

Bulma grit her teeth in anger. No, she had not resided on Vegeta-sei long, but it had been Vegeta's home; in her mind, that made it her home as well and that was a second home of hers now that had been destroyed by these horrible Ice-jin. She was about to say something more to him in her anger, but was distracted when she heard the door open.

She felt her stomach drop and her heart leap up into her throat when she saw Vegeta walk in looking nothing less than a disheveled mess, however he strode in proud and tall as though he owned the place. She knew it was just a front he was putting on, more than likely for her benefit, but she loved him for it. He looked tired and under nourished; he had dark circles under his eyes and she could tell he'd lost weight. That was only his outside physical appearance; she did not want to know how he actually felt physically. It would break her heart.

She turned from Cold and was going to go up to him. _**Do not.**_ She heard him through the bond and she stopped.

 _ **But Vegeta, I haven't seen you in almost three months!**_ She objected.

 _ **You will contain yourself and any emotional outbursts,**_ he said firmly, his face perfectly impassive. _**Save it for later.**_

_**What if there is no later?** _

_**Then there isn't but you will not give them the benefit of seeing you display any such weakness.**_ He instructed, knowing that should anything bad happen she would more than likely break down anyway but this was for his benefit as much as hers. If she folded, he would not be able to bear seeing it. He could do nothing to protect her or the boys, he could do nothing to help them escape; all he could do was stand by and watch as things unfolded; he was completely useless.

She didn't reply and he took that as a silent agreement that she would at least try and maintain a calm facade; at least for now. _**I need you to be strong,**_ he added softly as an afterthought. He cringed as he felt the Android take hold of his right arm, as though reminding him that he was there and to not attempt anything.

Bulma gave him sort of a half-smile as his eyes met hers briefly and it was in that moment she fully understood just how much he was compensating with his proud stance and harsh words.

"What a nice little family reunion," Cold chortled. "Vegeta, you did not tell me of your second son."

"You never asked." Vegeta replied dryly.

"Bring them to me," Cold demanded looking at Jeyice and Burter.

Bulma glared at him. "No," she said, clutching them both as tightly to her as she could before they came to take them. "I kindly request that they stay with me. Please?"

Cold chuckled dryly. "Beautiful, smart and a sense of humor, I see. Absolutely not, my dear. They are going to be taken and accessed and their conditioning and training will begin immediately."

"But they're just babies!" Bulma objected. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I can assure you this is standard procedure for young warriors, my dear; start them out as young as possible. Are they off the tit?" He asked coolly.

"Yes,"

"And can they walk?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then they are ready to begin their training." Cold reasoned, nodding again at Jeyice and Burter.

"Wait, I wish to remind you that I have a special interest in the infants as well." Gero pipped up.

"Don't you _dare_!" Bulma yelled at Gero. "I will die before I let you touch either one of them, you sick bastard!"

"You're interests are none of my concern and will have to be delayed," Cold said to Gero. "You have the prince to keep you amused. The infants are mine."

Bulma smirked triumphantly at Gero, who was glaring very disappointed daggers at Cold. Her smirk was short lived though as Burter took both boys from her grasp. "Hey!" she objected, reaching for Trunks as he was yanked from her along with Tarble both by the scruff of their shirts. "Give him back!" All at once, the two infants began to cry as they were ripped from her arms suddenly without any sensitivity or gentleness by the tall, blue alien.

"Nu uh, hun, sorry." Jeyice said, grabbing her around her waist to keep her from going after Burter.

Bulma fought against him, trying to get free and get to Burter. "Give them back! They need to stay with me!"

Vegeta clenched his jaw as he watched the scene unfold, ashamed that he was helpless to do anything. _**Let them go.**_ He said to her, suppressing his own rage as the Android's grip on his arm tightened yet again.

Bulma turned and looked at him. "Are you kidding me?" she cried. "They're just taking them! I'm supposed to just let that happen?" _**Vegeta, do something!**_ She practically screamed into his mind as she still was trying to get out of Jeyice's hold.

He looked at her with such a pained expression that it made her stomach drop. _**What is it you would like me to do?**_ He asked. _**My hands are bound and I have no strength to speak of. I cannot do anything.**_

_**Well don't just stand there and let it!** _

_**Don't you think if there was something that I could do, I would have done it by now?**_ He growled at her in offence; resentment building inside of him at the thought that she honestly thought that he would just stand by and allow this without protest if he had any other choice. _**I warned you of this.**_

"I know, but…" she cried. _**I'm sorry, I know there's nothing you can do.**_ "Can't they stay with me? If you want to train them, then fine, but can't they stay with me when they aren't training?"

"No," Cold shook his head. "They will be taken and conditioned and trained. I cannot do that with your meddling influence. Don't worry, my dear, they will be very well taken care of. They are both very valuable commodities."

"They _aren't_ commodities, they're _my_ children!" She screamed at him as she watched Burter carry them out; both still crying and carrying on.

Bulma quit struggling once the door shut loudly behind Burter in finality. As silence enveloped the room, she sunk to her knees in grief, taking Jeyice with her.

 _ **I am sorry,**_ Vegeta said to her; never had he felt his heart break as it was in this moment. He had thought nothing could ever be worse than when he had thought Bulma was lost to him on Frieza's ship. He had been wrong, this was far worse. _**But pull yourself together. You need to be strong.**_

 _ **I can't, Vegeta,**_ she said as Jeyice stood up, hauling her up with him. _**I'm sorry, I just can't; they've taken Trunks, and poor Tarble!**_

"Show Miss Bulma where she will be staying," Cold said to It. "Tomorrow we will begin Prince Vegeta's trial. I suggest you get some rest. I need you to be able to recall all the events pertaining to my son."

"My Lord, where is she staying?" The Android asked in slight confusion.

"No one has prepared for her arrival?" Cold asked in exasperation as everyone looked around at each other, hoping the other had taken care of everything. "For god's sakes!" he cursed at them.

"I assumed she would be working in the lab with me, my Lord." Gero said.

"She will be, eventually." Cold answered. "But not yet; not until after trial and only if I can trust that she will not be conspiring against you and plotting an escape."

"She can stay with me for the time being," Jeyice offered with a smug chuckle bringing a hand from around her waist up to grope a breast. "I don't mind."

Bulma tried to elbow him in the gut but it only hurt her more than him because of his armor. "Get your filthy hands off of me!"

With the Android distracted by Cold's question and watching the scene between Bulma and Jeyice unfold, Vegeta quickly took advantage strode up to him and kicked him as hard as he could in the knee.

Distracted, Jeyice let go of Bulma, reaching down to grab his knee and got a second kick in the mouth from Vegeta, who was quite intent on pummeling him as much as he could before the Android intervened.

"You will not touch her!" He snarled, kicking him again; this time in the groin.

"Oy! What the fuck, Vegeta!" Jeyice shouted, a hand on his jaw and another on his groin. He quickly regained his equilibrium though and socked Vegeta in the face, sending him to the ground.

"Stop!" Bulma screamed, running for Vegeta and standing between him and Jeyice. "Leave him alone!"

"You're gonna pay for that!" Jeyice spat at him, taking a step back instead of kicking him like it looked like he was about to. "You're lucky, mate. _Very_ lucky your woman is standing between you an' me. I won't forget this." he said, rubbing his jaw.

Bulma turned to help Vegeta stand up, holding back a dam of tears that wanted to fall at seeing him helpless like this and despite that, he'd still tried to help her; though he had gotten hurt in the process. _**I'm so sorry!**_

He didn't say anything in reply, still glaring at Jeyice as he stood up.

"Ms. Briefs can remain in the lab with me," Gero volunteered now that the dust seemed to have settled somewhat. "I have use for her and she can stay in one of my examination rooms until other accommodations are made available."

"Very well," Cold agreed. "However you must be sure to keep an eye on her; I'll not have her escaping with Prince Vegeta."

"I will keep an eye on her; I know Ms. Briefs quite well, you know." Gero said, giving her a sly look.

"I will trust you on this," Cold nodded. "You may take them back."

Jeyice took a step towards Bulma but she avoided him. "You stay away from me!"

He glared at her and looked at Cold who nodded. "Leave her be, just follow until they reach the lab in case she decides to try something."

Bulma looked at Cold a moment, grateful that he wasn't insisting she go with Jeyice. "Do not thank me, girl. Just be mindful that there is nowhere to go if you do manage to escape this place. The outside temperatures are as such that I doubt you would last longer than a minute outside these walls dressed as you are."

She nodded and didn't say anything, only followed Gero and walked beside Vegeta. The Android then followed suit, closely behind them, more so behind Vegeta as Jeyice followed behind her. She swallowed the feeling of extreme anxiety threatening to wash through her at being so carefully hovered over. Really, what could she do? Nothing.

Absent mindedly, she reached for one of Vegeta's hands, which were bound in front of him. Relief flooded her when she felt him respond to the contact, lacing a few of his fingers with hers as they walked.

 _ **What has he done to your arms?**_ She asked, noting the open track marks all over his forearms.

Vegeta shrugged. _**I stopped taking note of all the things he is doing. What does it matter?**_

Bulma frowned. "What have you done to his arms?" she asked Gero.

Gero turned briefly to look at Vegeta's arms but continued down the hall. "I have taken many blood and skin samples for assessment," he answered. "Before I was interrupted by your arrival, I was testing him to see what he is and is not allergic to. It would seem that he is impervious to pretty much everything I have administered so far."

"He's not like _us_." Bulme ground out in disgust.

"Indeed, he is not." Gero agreed with a chuckle.

"So why can't you just accept that?" she asked in anger. "Why can't that just be enough for you? Why do you have to cut pieces out of him, poke and prod and inject and open him up to realize that?"

"Because he needs to be studied." Gero answered as though it was the stupidest question he'd ever been asked.

"For what purpose?" she insisted. "What are you going to do with your findings, _publish_ them? Where? Our planet is gone now, thanks to _you_ from what I understand. The Saiyan race is all gone now too so who are you going to share these _amazing_ findings of yours with, huh?" she ranted as they walked down the hall. "Anyone who _actually_ would care one iota about your sick science and experiments is _gone_ and dead. You're not going to get a scientific award of recognition for all this so _what_ is your purpose in all of this? Really, I'd love to know because for the life of me, I don't understand."

Gero stopped and looked at her a moment in puzzlement before replying. "You are a scientist as much as I am, I would have thought you would understand and appreciate my efforts."

"You're right, I am a scientist; or rather, I _was_ a scientist. But my interest was always, now and forever the same as my father's, all about advancing _technology_. Not biological experiments on _living things_!" She continued boldly. "There's a reason why you were disbarred and had your all-important " _Doctor"_ title stripped back home; because you're sick and you are unethical! You know despite your hard work and genius, no one had any respect for you? You were nothing more than an _embarrassment_ to the scientific community, nothing more than a mad scientist who became the brunt of every joke at the conventions. Do you know what they used to call you?"

"Doctor Frankenstein." He replied almost proudly.

" _Exactly!_ "

"Ms. Briefs, do you think I cared about the judgment and opinions of my colleagues back then?" he asked, continuing down the hall again. "I didn't, just like I don't care anymore about what they or anyone else would think now. No one took the opportunity or cared enough to ask me _why_ I took an interest in the things that I did. All anyone did was judge, much the same as you are at the moment."

"Okay then, why?" she asked pointedly in a clipped tone. "You have my undivided attention, I won't interrupt or object; go."

Vegeta took a glance at her from the corner of his eye as they continued to walk. She had never spoken much about Gero after the death of Frieza and neither had her father. He was always a subject that neither one of them had wanted to discuss with much detail anytime he had happened to ask about him. He never realized how much she really had detested this man until now; he'd known she had held a certain amount of animosity towards him but he had always just assumed that it had been directly related to their interaction on Frieza's ship.

Apparently not.

Never had he heard her address anyone with such disdain and disrespect. If the circumstances weren't so dire, he'd have been silently gloating in pride.

"It is simple, my dear Ms. Briefs: _Immortality_." he answered, punching in the code at the door of his lab.

"Immortality?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yes," he nodded, walking in. "You can go now," he said to Jeyice, waving him away aloofly.

Jeyice huffed in annoyance at the rude dismissal. "I'll be around, _Woman_ , be sure of that." he said with a wink before taking his leave.

"What is it the human race has always strived for?" Gero asked her as he closed the door behind them and punched in a code that Bulma had tried to see, but couldn't. "It is to prolong life to the longest. My experiments may have been seen as cold and unkind and unethical to those looking in, but there was a reasonable foundation behind all of them."

"Yea, okay," she rolled her eyes at him. "Kidnapping helpless children for your sick experiments _wasn't_ unethical?"

"I never kidnapped anyone," he shrugged. "I was very selective in choosing the subjects of my experiments. I only chose those with no homes to go to or families to miss them. Orphans who were living on the streets on garbage and clothed in nothing more than rags as protection from the elements because no one else took an interest in them; tell me how cruel was that by comparison of the well-off not being bothered to spare them a second glance, never mind a few dollars for them to buy a sandwich?

"I took them off the streets and gave them a home and a purpose; something to live for," he went on passionately. "Yes, I made my mistakes and many of them suffered greatly at the hands of my learning but they all understood it was for the greater good in the quest to better humanity. I was on the verge of eliminating cancer and other such typical ailments that plagued the human race."

"At what cost?" she snorted. "I refuse to believe that your subjects gladly gave their lives for you to do as you pleased while they were still alive and fully cognizant of what you were doing!"

Gero shrugged nonchalantly. "Say what you will, I mean all of humanity despised the Nazis for their experiments on living beings during the Holocaust but everyone is so quick to forget that it is thanks those horrific experiments that the human race made some of the most amazing the medical advancements they had in recent years following the second world war."

"Great, so now you are glorifying and condoning Nazis," she rolled her eyes in disgust. "I don't know why that surprises me. You really make me sick!"

"Just as narrow minded as your father, I see," Gero shook his head, opening up a door to an exam room and reaching for Vegeta. "Such a shame. You may wait in here with him as I figure out where, exactly I am going to put you for the time being. Despite our differences, I am very excited to have you here and working with me."

Bulma walked into the small, cold room with Vegeta and glared at Gero as he closed the door behind him. "Oh my god, Vegeta!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

He couldn't embrace her back, but leaned into her, turning his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her familiar scent. It immediately brought him some form of comfort.

She stepped away from him and went to work on the bonds around his wrists, trying to release him. "Sorry," she whispered. "I should have done this first. Shit." She cursed, her mangled hand useless as she tried to undo the tight material bounding Vegeta's wrists together.

Vegeta looked down at her hands as she worked and frowned, only noticing now her injured and contorted hand. He managed to turn one of his own hands up and gently grasped her injured hand. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

She halted her movements and paled at the question for a moment. "Nothing," she answered abruptly as she resumed her efforts.

"That does not look like _nothing_ to me," he argued, looking at it closely.

Bulma ignored him as she continued to work at his hands and smiled to herself when the material had finally come undone. She tossed it to the floor and rubbed his wrists, trying to get the circulation going again, as they had been so tightly wound that his hands had become discolored. "There," she whispered, overly concentrating on his hands and refusing to look at him.

He grunted as he swatted her one good hand away and examined her injured hand more closely. "What happened?" he asked again in a tone that told her that he expected an answer from her this time instead of skirting around the subject.

She winced as he gently held the hand and felt the bones.

"These have healed like this," he muttered quietly to himself. "You will have to re break all of these bones and they will need to be properly reset if you ever wish to have the full use of it again. Who did this?"

Bulma shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know, it happened when I was taken as I was trying to escape. I woke up with it like this in the cell and no one would give me any medical attention so I set it as best as I could." she lied.

Vegeta looked at her and nodded lightly at her account, knowing full well that wasn't the whole story. "It looks like it was intentionally crushed." he pointed out, putting his one hand around hers and squeezing lightly as though reenacting what had happened.

She winced at him and withdrew her hand quickly. "Don't!" Instead of acknowledging or denying his diagnosis she hugged him again as tightly as she could, scarcely believing she was with him again, even if only for a moment. "I'm so sorry for everything, Vegeta. Your home, us being here; everything! We will figure out a way to get out of here, I know we will!"

It took him a moment, but he embraced her back, holding her closely to him for a moment before she winced again at him and abruptly pulled away; he had unknowingly hugged her too tight and her ribs were still very sore.

"Let me look at this stupid thing," she said, looking at the ki collar around his neck before he had a chance to ask about her strange behavior. "You look and are acting like a complete zombie."

"I do not know what that is," he replied. "But it is draining every ounce of energy and strength I have. I cannot do anything with that damned thing on."

"I know," she murmured, deep in concentration as she tried to feel around it for any small, hidden off switch. Unfortunately there seemed to be none. "This one is different from the one I remember designing."

"I have tried to find a weakness in it but cannot." Vegeta agreed.

It was smooth all around, the seam where it closed around his neck was barely detectable. "How did he get this on you even?" she asked, continuing to examine it.

"I don't know. I woke up with it after losing the battle with the Androids," he growled. "Never mind that for now, it is impossible. What happened to you, what happened to my father and at Vegeta-sei?"

"Oh, god, Vegeta," she sighed, giving up on the collar for the moment, taking one of his hands with her good one and sat down against the wall opposite the door.

He sat down next to her and placed an arm around her as he noticed her shivering. He wondered in amazement how it was that she was warmer to the touch than he was. Normally she had the cooler body temperature and it was he who was able to keep her warm. At the moment it was the other way around and he was reminded yet again that without ki, it was difficult to keep his body temperature regulated. His heart sank in despair as his effort to even keep her warm was useless and it was her close proximity giving him warmth.

"Why haven't they at least given you a shirt?" she asked in annoyance, leaning into his side, accepting his warmth, though she instantly noted that he wasn't as warm as he usually was. She thought of pulling out her capsules and giving him a shirt or something, anything, to wear but didn't want them to find out that she had capsules on her. The last thing she needed was for everything to be taken from her. "I know you warned me, but I can't believe they just took the boys like that," she finally said, trying to make herself comfortable against him so they could both hopefully warm up a little.

"Hmmn," he grunted in agreement. "I need to know exactly what happened before Vegeta-sei was destroyed, Bulma. Cold dragged me out of here and interrogated me, thinking that my father was plotting against him. When you were taken, apparently Paragus was uncooperative with his inquiries. He instructed his men to destroy Vegeta-sei but I managed to talk him into waiting after my trial.

"I'm not sure what happened, but the next thing I knew you said something was happening to the ship. Vegeta-sei was firing on it, Cold could not get in touch with anyone to find out what the hell was going on and then he decided to destroy Vegeta-sei instead of waiting."

"I don't know what happened, Vegeta. I wasn't there when any of that stuff happened," she sighed. "I know Paragus was anxious to see me leave. Maybe he was so anxious because his whole plan all along was to shoot the ship down and have me and Trunks and even Tarble killed so that there were no remaining survivors of the Vegeta line to come back and claim the throne?"

"So my father _was_ dead before the explosion?"

 _Shit._ She cursed inwardly to herself. "I don't know if he was or not," she lied, trying to keep her thoughts in line with what she was saying. "I never saw him after I was taken except for the one time I already told you about."

Vegeta nodded, again, not fully believing her and knowing that there was more to it than just that. "And that hand of yours just happened to break itself?"

"No," she answered with a heavy sigh. "Look, I don't want to talk about my hand. It doesn't matter, I've given up on it. What I want to figure out is getting out of here. How are we going to find the boys?" _**I have everything on me; the ship, clothes, food, everything. We just need to get out of here.**_

"Hmmn," he grunted, glad that she had switched to the bond in case they were being monitored. _**Well that is something at least.**_ "There is no way out and the halls are very heavily guarded." _**Unless you can figure out a way to get this blasted collar off of me, I cannot see how we can get out. Those androids are everywhere along with the rest of Cold's army. I cannot face one never mind several.**_

_**Then what do we do?** _

Vegeta shrugged. _**I suppose that depends on whatever happens after my trial. If Cold decides to execute me, you'll be on your own. In which case, my suggestion would be to bide your time. Figure out how everything works; guard's shifts, where the boys are. Plan it carefully and then make your move. Get the hell out and go to your parents. Hopefully Raditz and Asia will still be there.**_

 _ **I don't want to even think about that, Vegeta.**_ She shuddered, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and hugging him as she ran her hand up and down his arm in an effort to try and warm him up.

 _ **Well, you need to, Bulma. Even if Cold does decide to keep me around for whatever reason, I am completely useless to help you. You are going to have to fend for yourself.**_ He said bitterly.

"I know," she sighed against his neck, just wanting to be as close to him as possible if it was the last time. "I'll figure something out, you'll see." He grunted as she turned his face towards hers and kissed him. Chastely at first and then deepened it, kissing him as though he were her lifeline. _**First order of business is to at least turn that collar off so you can recover.**_

He didn't reply, just kissed her back hungrily.

The door to the exam room opened up, interrupting them.

"Ahh, none of that, I am afraid," Gero said mockingly, wagging his finger at them. "Unless you can make another child for me? He tried to tell me that you could not have any more children."

Bulma glared at him. "I _can't_."

"How unfortunate," Gero frowned to himself. "Well in that case, there is no point in leaving you two together, come with me, I have your accommodations ready for you."

"I'm staying here with him," she argued, not standing up but staying exactly where she was, next to Vegeta.

Gero narrowed his eyes at her and turned away for a moment before the Android walked in. "Go with It, or he will _make_ you." Gero said simply to her. "You will be staying with another guest here, not with him. I cannot trust you to not compromise my experiments."

 _ **Just go with him, that android will break your other arm if you make it drag you to wherever Gero wants you to go.**_ Vegeta said to her.

"Fine." She spat, getting up and following Gero out. "Who am I staying with? Better not be anyone creepy."

"You'll see soon enough, my dear. We are only moving next door, not far."

 _ **More than likely the Namek.**_ Vegeta said to her.

 _ **There's a Namek here?**_ She asked. _**Like Piccolo?**_

_**Yes. He's a prisoner, experiment just like I am though Gero has been using him to help him out here and there but he is not on Gero's side. He is a prisoner here just like we are from what I can tell. He's just a child.** _

_**How sad!** _

_**Show him your hand. He seems to have healing abilities. Maybe he can fix it for you.** _

_**Okay. I love you, Vegeta.** _

_**I know.** _

Gero opened the door to an almost identical exam room and shoved her in, closing the door behind her. True to Vegeta's word, there was a small Namekian child hovered in the corner looking at her curiously.

"Hey there," she said gently, sliding down the wall to sit opposite the child who was looking at her suspiciously. "I'm Bulma. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Vegeta's wife."

The Namek looked at her carefully a moment before nodding once. "Vegeta is the Saiyan that's here, correct?"

"Yes," she answered.

"I'm sorry," he said to her. "Gero does all sorts of horrible things to him and then makes me heal him so that he can do more things to him. I, I hate it but I don't have any choice."

"It's alright," Bulma smiled at him gently. While news of that disturbed her greatly, she could tell the boy was genuinely sorry for being made to be a part of whatever Gero was doing. "I believe you. What's your name?"

"Dende," he answered.

"How did you end up here, Dende?" she asked.

"I was taken," he answered sadly. "Gero crash landed on my home planet and I was out on my own when I found him. I healed him and then he took me hostage. He made me help him with the repairs on his ship, saying that if I helped him and kept his presence a secret that he would let me go. Except he didn't, as you can see, and here I am. My people have no idea what even happened to me."

Bulma nodded sadly. "How horrible, I'm sorry you crossed paths with him."

"Me too."

"Hey, I know that we only just met, but you said you can heal?" she asked. She would have waited but her hand was beginning to throb from the cold.

"Yes, I can," he nodded. "Are you hurt?"

"Yea, I was roughed up and no one tended to my injuries," she said, showing him her hand. "Can you fix it?"

Dende walked up to her and gently took her hand. "It's mostly healed already, I can't reset these. I can heal what's still damaged so the swelling will go down and it won't continue to hurt you; but unless you get someone to re break it and set it first so I can heal it, there's not much I can do now with it. It's been left too long, I'm sorry."

Bulma nodded sadly. She didn't know why she'd gotten her hopes up even. "That's okay. Thanks anyway."

"Well, let me heal what I can at least so it doesn't hurt and maybe you'll be able to regain some function," he offered kindly and before she had a chance to reply a warm pulsing sensation took over the discomfort in her hand. "I can heal, but the wounds need to be relatively fresh for me to be able to do much good or make it brand new. Even Vegeta, the first time I healed him it gave him relief from his battle injuries, but the bones may not be set the way they should be because I don't know how long he was left like that before Gero made me heal him. Hopefully not long so he is alright and I was able to make him better."

"I'm sure you did just fine," Bulma replied in amazement as the swelling in her hand went away and it instantly felt better; it was still a mangled mess, but at least it didn't hurt. "Thank you for helping him."

"Well, I don't really know how much I'm actually helping him since as soon as I heal him, Gero starts back on him again," he replied guiltily. "Do you have any other injuries that I can try and fix?"

"Oh, umm, my ribs are really sore, and I have these open scratches on my back, but I'm pretty sure you won't be able to do anything about them now," she said, pulling down the side of her shirt to show him the long scrapes the king had dug into her skin.

"No, I can't fix that now. I can heal them completely, but the scars will remain," he answered with a frown. "Who did this to you?"

"Oh, no one," she brushed off. "Just someone on Vegeta's planet."

"That's terrible; that must have really hurt," he commented as he placed a hand on the bare skin of her shoulder and she felt the warmth from his healing method again.

"It did," she said quietly. "Thank you for doing this."

"I'm sorry I can't help more," he replied. "That's about as good as that's going to get. Where else did you say you were hurt?"

"My ribs," she answered. "I don't know if they are just bruised or if they were cracked; but it's been several weeks and they look okay but they still really hurt."

Dende nodded and placed a hand on her side. "I don't feel anything but I'll see what I can do." he said and once again, she could feel that strange warmth pulsating through her as he did this and immediately it felt better.

"Thank you so much!" she said to him. "I'm sorry I don't know you very well and it was weird of me to ask you to do that but I've been in so much pain over it that I-"

"No need to thank me," Dende said with a small smile, going back to sit in his corner again. "It's my calling to heal people. I'm only sorry there wasn't more that I could do to fix it better. Maybe one day, when my skills are more developed than what they are now I can try again; but for now, that's the best I can do."

"No, even this is amazing!" she shook her head, still somewhat in awe at this little guy and what he had been able to do. "I'm not in any pain and that's all that matters right now. Maybe I can sweet talk Gero into fixing my hand. After all, I know he's going to want me to work for him at some point."

Dende nodded, looking grim again. "He is a terrible person."

"I know," she agreed, sitting across the room from him. "I knew him on my planet before he was destroyed. He had a reputation for being a mad scientist. It's a shame he didn't perish along with the rest of the planet and inhabitants."

They talked for quite a while before Bulma went back to mentally check on Vegeta. _**Hey, how are you doing over there?**_

 _ **Hmmn,**_ he grunted. _**Did the Namek fix your hand?**_

 _ **His name is Dende and did the best he could, yea, thanks. The injury was too advanced in its healing stage for him to make it normal, but he was able to make the swelling go down and it doesn't hurt. If I break it and set it, he can heal it like new again.**_ She explained. _**Did Gero start anything else on you again?**_ There were no windows anywhere in the exam room for her to look out of to have seen if Vegeta had been let out or not.

_**No. Cold apparently wants me well rested for my trial tomorrow.** _

_**Oh,**_ she said. _**Is that a good thing or a bad thing?**_

_**I don't know. It doesn't matter; Cold has made his decision with regards to me. This is nothing more than a grueling waiting game for my own execution as far as I am concerned.** _

_**Don't say that, Vegeta.** _

_**Well what other point in it is there?**_ He asked bitterly. _**He's already told me that he sees me as guilty as charged. Why he wants to talk to you, I have no idea. From the way I see it, all of this is just a façade in order to make me suffer and wait out my own death instead of just getting on with it already. You and my son are trapped here for god knows what to be done to you both, my planet has been destroyed. What other point is there for him to keep me alive? I would rather execution than live as a lab experiment.**_

Bulma was quiet a while, trying to think of something comforting to say to him but there was nothing to be said. Truth be told, he was better off dead than to be left at the mercy of Gero and his experiments. Chances were that once Cold had passed a judgement over and if he didn't decide to execute Vegeta, in turn handing him over to Gero, he would not refrain from the more advanced, horrific experiments she knew he was probably just _dying_ to get into. The thought of that frightened her more than if she knew for certain Cold would have him executed.

 _ **If it comes to that, I want you to find a way to end me.**_ He said to her, obviously picking up on her thoughts. _**End me and find a way out for yourself and the boys.**_

_**Vegeta, I don't know if I can—** _

_**Yes you can, and you will. I expect it of you and if you are too weak to do it, then I expect you to find a way to give me the means to do it myself.**_ He said harshly. _**I can feel it from you too that you know it is the better option.**_

_**I know, but what if there's a way for all of us to get out of here, together?** _

_**I doubt it.**_ He scoffed. _**Security is too tight and you'll never make it out unseen with all of us.**_

 _ **Alright,**_ she sighed in distress, not wanting to think of going down that road just yet. _**Let's just take a step back and worry about getting through tomorrow. Do you know what's involved in this trial?**_

_**Not a clue, only that you will be expected to testify.** _

_**I can do that,**_ she replied confidently. _**I'll defend you to the death, Vegeta; you know that.**_

_**Yes, I know that but you will also have to be very cautious about what you say. Cold also holds you somewhat partially responsible for my killing Frieza.** _

_**Wait, how is any of this my fault? He had me kidnapped and brought there against my will! It's not my fault he got himself killed for taking someone else's wife. Not to mention what happened to me on his ship and what he had planned-!** _

_**Yes, I know,**_ he cut her off. _**But Cold does not see it that way. All he sees is that it was because of you that I killed Frieza; you are the reason behind all of it. If it had not been for you, I would have not acted out the way that I had and killed Frieza.**_

 _ **Are you serious right now?**_ She deadpanned. _**That's ridiculous! That's like saying if I had turned left instead of right this or that would not have happened and my life would have turned out different. Why can't he see it as if his son had not taken me to use as a weapon to be used against you, he'd still be alive and well and making more lives miserable?**_

_**You are absolutely right, but you will still need to be shroud in your manner of speaking tomorrow. You could very well seal your own execution as well if you are not careful.** _

_**Well there's one way of making sure Gero can't use you as an experiment.**_ She said dryly.

 _ **Trunks needs you to stay alive and find a way out.**_ He said to her softly.

_**Yea, I know. Oh, god I hope they're alright right now, Vegeta. That's all I can think about.** _

_**I'm sure they are fine; I know you do not like to hear it, but they are very valuable to Cold. They will be well taken care of for the time being and I would much rather Trunks be wherever Cold has placed him than here with Gero.** _

_**I know, but..** _

_**Don't dwell on them at the moment, they will be fine and not the first Saiyans to find themselves in this sort of predicament. If anything, it will be good for them to begin training.** _

_**But he's going to turn them into monsters, Vegeta! How can you say that?** _

_**Because if it is going to be a while before you can get out of here then if I cannot go with you, then they can accompany you if he hasn't turned them against us by that time.** _

_**And you don't worry about that?**_ She asked, starting to get emotional about the loss of the two boys again. She knew she had more pressing matters to be considering at the moment and that Vegeta was probably right, that they were probably just fine at the moment but that they had been taken so coldly from her was making her sick all over again.

 _ **Not overly, no.**_ He answered and she could tell he was getting tired again. _**They have each other and that is a good thing, plus Trunks is young enough, he still has a bond with you; one positive thing with regards to your over coddling I suppose. That is something that will not be easily taken away. Even if the bond gradually fades, which is normal as he grows up, you are still his mother and he will never forget that.**_

That made her feel a little bit better. _**What about Tarble though?**_

_**He's with Trunks, they will have each other to lean on much like I had Kakarott. It was smart of you to just say they are brothers because they will more than likely become close as any two brothers can be. That they have each other is a good thing and another reason why you need to stop worrying about them for now and start worrying about what may happen tomorrow.** _

_**Alright, I'll give it a lot of thought tonight, okay? And I will be careful of what and how I say it.** _

_**Just tell it like it was, be honest because I do not know how much he does know or who he has to testify against us in Frieza's favor. All I ask is for you to be mindful of not only what you say but how you say it.** _

She was quiet a long moment as she considered everything he had just said. _**I will, and I'll do the best I can to get us both off the chopping block, alright?**_

_**I know you will, I have full faith in you.** _

With those unsettling thoughts in mind, Bulma curled herself in a small ball and lay down, trying to remember everything as clearly as she possibly could. Hers and Vegeta's and even Trunks and Tarble's lives and futures all depended on this trial.

She just hoped she could do this and not let Vegeta down although could not fight the sinking feeling deep down in her gut that no matter what she said in their defense, it may not make the slightest difference in the final outcome if King Cold had already made a decision.

 _Well then, that's because he's never had a debate with Bulma Briefs before!_ She told herself confidently.


	24. Chapter 24

**_Chapter 24_ **

 

Vegeta sat there in the cold solitude of his room and blocked Bulma and her troubled thoughts and worries about the trial tomorrow and wellbeing about the boys’ altogether. He knew she needed him now more than ever and that she hated it when he did this, but he could not bring himself to let her in right now; seeing her and Trunks only made him feel worse about their predicament and it was like another brutal slap in the face serving as a reminder of his failure to protect them.

He thought back briefly at the scene in the throne room when King Cold had commanded Trunks and Tarble be taken away from Bulma; that he could not do anything except observe made him feel nothing but shame and contempt for himself and so he refused think about it. How could he face Bulma now after that? He hadn’t even attempted to intervene even though he’d known that there wasn’t anything he could do to prevent it and if he did make it out of here by some miracle, he wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive himself for failing his family in this way.

Vegeta knew that Bulma didn’t feel that way and she didn’t blame him for being unable to intervene, yet somehow that made him feel worse about everything and so the only way he could cope with it at the moment was to bock her completely.

He didn't know what tomorrow would bring but the thought didn't frighten him, nor did it make him feel all that anxious. He felt nothing…

Or so he kept telling himself. 

As he sat there contemplating what possibly may happen to him, he found himself hoping that Cold would just execute him and be done with it. What else did he have? His home, his father, his history and birthright, his title even, it was all gone forever.

In the past three weeks since Vegeta-sei had been destroyed, he had refused to think or dwell on it; it only pushed him further into the seemingly ever present pit of despair that had taken over him since he had lost to the Androids. Instead of dwelling on it, he chose a closed off, nearly catatonic mental state when he was alone and when he was with Gero. What did it even matter anymore? There was nothing left for him at this point. Cold had won by a landslide in his vendetta against him. He had been foolish and arrogant to assume that he could have just showed up here and won without any effort. Now it was over and not only was he paying the price but also his home and his people had paid and soon his family would be paying the ultimate price as well. He just wished the end would come for him sooner rather than later; it was this waiting that was killing him, not the thought of his demise.

_Trunks and Bulma need you!_ A voice in the back of his mind reprimanded him. _Do they?_ He wondered. He wasn't sure how to help them. Not if he was like this and he wished now more than ever that Bulma had managed to get off Vegeta-sei. Having her see him like this only made his shame of defeat all that much worse.

He dismissed the thoughts about Vegeta-sei again. He couldn't bear to think about it. He and Tarble were technically the only ones left, assuming Asia and Raditz had followed his instructions and headed to Callisto instead of back to Vegeta-sei and gotten themselves killed.

Sure there was Trunks as well, but it was different. He wasn't full Saiyan. There was a good possibility that it was just Table and himself who remained now and if anything happened to him tomorrow then that would just leave Tarble.

Despite feeling camaraderie for his younger half-brother all he felt was contempt. Tarble was the weakest Saiyan infant he had ever heard of. He'd be lucky if he lasted a month here even. _Just as well,_ he told himself bitterly. The sooner the better. He only hoped Trunks wouldn't suffer and a wave of anguish at the thought of his son being here pierced him again. Of all the things he wished for his son, this was the last thing he would have ever wanted for him. 

_I am so sorry, Trunks. I have failed both you and your mother._ As he sat there and felt his eyes begin to burn from the tears he refused to shed, he realized that he was absolutely terrified for what may take place tomorrow and that made him feel even more ashamed. He was never afraid of anything, ever. _Except losing Trunks and Bulma,_ his mind whispered.

If things went bad tomorrow and Cold decided to have him killed, what would happen to Bulma and Trunks? He swallowed an overwhelming wave of emotion at the thought. His son would be brought up and trained by Cold and his soldiers to more than likely be a deranged super soldier; as Frieza had wanted so badly to turn him into.

_And what about Bulma?_ His mind whispered almost cruelly. _Shit;_ what of Bulma? What would become of her? Would she be killed as well for being a supposed accessory to his crimes or would she be forced to work in the lab with Gero? It was better than her being given over to the soldiers as a play thing, he supposed; but she would not want to work for Gero. He knew that. However, he also knew that she was smart enough that she could bide her time and find a way out of here if she wanted to; but that would only happen if he was gone. Despite his wishes for her to get out, he knew she wouldn’t leave without him and that was another reason he hoped that Cold would just hurry up and kill him already. If he was out of the equation, she could leave with Trunks and Tarble and forget about him.

_What about the bond? Won’t it kill her if you die?_ His mind argued. _Possibly; but she is not Saiyan so it may not either._ He did not know and he was not sure how he felt about that. Sure he did not wish death upon her, he was not that selfish; but he did not wish for her to live her life out as a slave here either. Furthermore, if she passed along with him then what hope was there for Trunks and Tarble? None. They would not know right from wrong, nor of their heritage. _Though that may not matter anyway being that they’ve been taken and their training will likely commence tomorrow._

“Great, now I am talking to myself,” he grumbled out loud.

Vegeta could sense Bulma was still awake, agonizing over how the events of tomorrow may play out. He wanted to reach out to her and offer her up some comfort, but could not bring himself to do so. He could not face her and let her know how petrified he actually was for her and for Trunks; he could not let her be open to the shame he felt at his failure in this whole damned campaign, nor could he share with her how deeply grieved he was over the loss of Vegeta-sei. He had kept her at arm’s length since Vegeta-sei’s destruction purposefully because if he didn’t, he would fall apart.

That was something he could not afford to do right now, so acting indifferent about all of this was his solution. 

As he sat there and thought about everything, he began to recount all the events leading up to this moment. Everything from the moment he’d met Bulma until now.

He should have never taken Raditz up on his offer to spend the evening with her; his life had been full of destruction, violence and torment and anyone he got close to or touched became an extension of that. He thought now that he should have let Bulma go; he’d had so many opportunities, yet he’d been too weak and selfish to go through with it. He could have stopped all of this by not returning to the tavern for her as he had.

When he had learned that she lived after thinking her dead all those months so long ago, he should have been glad that she had been alive after all and not sought her out at the hotel. Or if he had, he should have just enjoyed the night with her as he had and not followed her to her planet. She would have been much safer. She could have lived her life out on that planet and have been happy and out of harm’s way. Yet he had been too weak to leave her be and let her go. Look at what it had cost them? Sure they had Trunks but what kind of life was waiting for him here? Not the upbringing he would have wanted for any child of his. 

Once again, after Frieza when she had wanted nothing to do with him, he should have let her go. She could have had Trunks and lived a safe life with him and her parents the rest of her days. Of course, he had been too weak to leave her and go on with his life then too.

Now here they all were, in the worst possible predicament and while he deeply grieved the loss of his planet and his people, it grieved him even more that it was Bulma and Trunks who still had yet to suffer the full consequences of his weakness. He should have followed his original instincts and not brought them with him to Vegeta-sei.

_That was his biggest mistake of all_. If he could go back and change everything, that was what he would change. _Even if it would have cost you her love?_ His mind nagged again and he nodded to himself in response. “Yes, even if it would have cost me her. They would still be safe and sound if I had left them behind.”

A small glimmer of hope that perhaps his father had possibly been off planet played at him again but he dismissed it before letting it take root as he had any time the possibility even vaguely crossed his mind. If his father had been planning anything, as unlikely as it was, he would have been there by now.

As he sat there feeling like a foolish child, he began to wish more and more for that to be the case; that maybe his father was somewhere on the other side of the galaxy biding his time, gathering soldiers for his rescue. With Vegeta-sei gone, that could take months, Vegeta reasoned as to why he wouldn’t have been here by now. Despite berating himself that it was nothing more than a pipedream, that small, boyishness left in him still allowed himself that hope for a moment.

For the last two years all he could think of was getting rid of his father and succeeding him; getting even with him handing him over to Frieza not once, but _twice_. Then when he had been so cruel as to dismiss Bulma and Trunks as he had and not even commend him for his achievement of ascending, that had been it for him. He had given up on ever having a positive relationship with the man. He knew he should have felt elated that his father was gone but instead he felt grief for whatever reason. It shook him to his core.

“You are pathetic,” he chastised himself out loud.

Vegeta buried his head in his hands and swallowed every thought of sentiment, fear and disappointment down. There was no time for it. He needed to be strong, not some wallowing weak fool afraid of his own demise and wishing for impossibilities.

-0-0-0-

Despite her efforts to get some rest for the trying day that loomed ahead, Bulma could not fall asleep. If she wasn’t stressing over what to say and what she shouldn’t say to King Cold, she was worried sick over not knowing what was happening with Trunks and Tarble or she found herself ridden with extreme anxiety over the thought that by this time the next day Vegeta may be executed and possibly herself as well.

_Where will things stand twenty four hours from now?_ She kept asking herself over and over again as anxiety began to take hold of any and all rational thought.

**_Would you stop obsessing?_** Vegeta growled at her, even though he was doing the exact same thing. **_I cannot get any rest with your incessant worrying._**

**_I’m sorry, Vegeta,_** she replied guiltily. **_I was trying to keep my thoughts to myself so as not to disturb you. I can’t help but worry though._**

**_Understood, but your worrying is not going to change the outcome one way or another. Try and get some rest._ **

**_I can’t, Vegeta. All I can think about is you and the boys and every possible bad scenario that could possibly play out._** She admitted.

**_I know, I am too._ **

**_Then talk to me, Vegeta. Please?_** She asked. **_I know you’re upset and you are worried and you are deliberately keeping me out._**

**_What is there to talk about?_** He huffed.

**_Uhmm, everything?_** She replied. **_I’m scared, Vegeta! I need you! I can’t do this tomorrow without you!_**

**_Yes you can, and you will._** He said firmly. **_You need to be strong and start considering that after tomorrow I may not even be around; you will need to fend for yourself._**

**_No, I can’t think about that, Vegeta._** She argued, adamant that outcome couldn’t happen. **_We will get out of here somehow, all four of us. I’ll figure it out!_**

**_Hmmn,_ **

**_I will, but I need you. I know things are bad, but I can’t do this if you keep shutting me out._ **

**_I do not need to burden you with all of my thoughts and concerns, woman. You have enough on your plate as it is and you need to be focusing on yourself and the boys, not on me._ **

Bulma was quiet for a few moments before she replied. **_Why do you always do this?_** She asked angrily, trying to not get emotional. **_When things get bad, you just shut me out like I don’t matter or even exist!_**

**_Not now, woman._** He growled dismissively. ** _Get some rest, tomorrow will not be easy._**

**_I know it won’t, but that’s why I’m scared and you acting like you don’t care and that none of this is a big deal isn’t helping me!_ **

**_What do you want me to say?_ **

**_Nothing, just acknowledge that we’re in deep shit here! That you’re as terrified as I am! Something, Vegeta!_** She cried, beginning to lose her carefully crafted façade of calmness that she had been trying to maintain for him, knowing how much it would upset him if she were to fall apart into an emotional basket case. **_You’ve barely said anything about the destruction of your home and your people. What the fuck is wrong with you?! Or is that stupid thing they have around your neck making you indifferent and altering your mind? Because you’re scaring me!_**

**_Enough! I do not wish to discuss it! Not with you, not with anyone, alright? You cannot possibly know or understand what it is that I am going through!_ **

**_You’re right, I can’t understand because you won’t let me!_ **

Vegeta didn’t reply, he only continued to sit there and fume at her silently for making him think about things he didn’t want to think about and making him feel bad for shutting her out. He did feel bad for that, but if he didn’t shut her out, she would know how unnerved he really was and he could not deal with that at the moment.

**_If there is anything after tomorrow, I will let you in._** He finally said. **_I promise._**

**_I hope so,_** she sighed. **_Either way, please don’t make me do this alone, Vegeta. Especially if you aren’t going to be here after tomorrow. I can’t even think about what I will do if that happens, but for right now, you’re still here and I need you! If you think you’re protecting me by keeping you out, you’re not._**

He didn’t say anything, but he knew she was right and relented and dropped his mental wall somewhat to let her in a little, sending her the feelings and emotions of encouragement and reassurance that he knew she needed but that he could not verbally communicate to her right now. He let her in enough to show her how afraid he was for her and for Trunks wellbeing; that the reason why he kept her at a distance was because he simply could not deal with the thoughts that were plaguing him.

Bulma’s heart broke for him but she sent him her thoughts of comfort and reassured him of her love. She tried with every ounce of feeling she possessed to indicate to him that if she blamed anyone, she blamed herself for not getting out like she should have. **_We’ll make it through this; together._**

**_We’ll see, Woman; we’ll see._** He replied softly.

They didn’t speak anymore, but took turns strengthening and comforting each other the best they could until they both fell asleep. They may have been physically separated, but at least they had each other through the bond.

-0-0-0-

Bulma was woken up the next morning when Gero opened the door and tossed a small tray with some breakfast items on it for Bulma along with a cup of what appeared to be black coffee and a glass of water, “for the Namek,” he’d said before abruptly closing the door on her.

“That’s all you get?” she asked in outrage looking at the glass of water before handing it to him.

“That’s all I need,” Dende said, taking it from her. “I don’t consume food like you do, just water is enough to sustain me.”

“Oh,” she replied, still finding that very strange but it made her feel a little better. “So you don’t want any of this then?” she asked, holding out her tray to him. “I can’t eat all of this, I’m just too stressed out.”

“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t eat anything at all.”

Bulma shrugged to herself and sat down, picking at her meal which seemed to consist of something that resembled scrambled eggs, a couple strips of bacon and a piece of toast. She nibbled on what looked like bacon and wasn’t sure what it was. It was room temperature and seemed to have more of a taste and texture of beef jerky than bacon.

She wrinkled her nose after taking a bite and put it back down on the plate; it didn’t taste bad, she just felt nauseous as soon as she swallowed it.

**_Eat it._** She heard Vegeta growl at her.

**_Vegeta, I’m too stressed out to eat anything right now. My stomach is churning so bad I’m afraid that if I eat anything, I’ll just throw up everywhere._ **

**_I understand that but at least try to eat something,_** he said. **_You need to keep your strength up._**

She sighed and picked up the piece of dry toast, taking a small bite of it. Once again, her stomach objected but she wasn’t physically ill at least and she managed to finish the entire slice even though by doing so she felt worse off than if she hadn’t eaten anything at all. She washed it down with the warm black coffee beverage and decided she was finished.

**_Do you know when this thing starts?_ **

**_No idea._ **

**_Did you eat?_** She asked.

**_No,_ **

**_Shouldn’t you eat too?_ **

**_I would, but that son of a bitch hasn’t given me anything to eat in two or three days._ **

**_What! Why?_ **

**_Something else to do with whatever experiment he is running. Who cares anymore, just eat what you can._ **

About ten minutes later, Gero escorted Bulma to a washroom where she could comb out her hair, put some make up on and change into some different clothes. She was exhausted; both mentally and emotionally spent but did her best to make herself look somewhat presentable. Perhaps if she looked good, it would boost her confidence a little. They hadn’t taken her diaper bag from her so she decapsulated a few of her things and a pair of pants and shirt for Vegeta and stuffed it all in her bag so that it would not seem suspicious.

She sighed as she looked at herself in the small mirror and tried not to cry; _what was happening with the boys? Had they made it through the night alright,_ she wondered in anguish. She hoped that they were okay and that she could focus on the trial and not them; what good would it do?

“Are you done in there?” Gero barked at her as he rapped on the door. His abrupt rudeness shook her out of her sadness and reminded her that she needed to pull herself together now.

She walked out and made a beeline for Vegeta, who was standing outside of his room with his hands bound in front of him and still only wearing his old, torn flight pants.

“You’re sending him for a trial like _that_?” Bulma asked Gero in outrage.

Gero looked at Vegeta indifferently and shrugged. “I don’t see what difference it makes.”

Bulma groaned and rifled through her bag, pulling out the fresh pair of loose pants and a gi top from Callisto she had stashed aside, handing them to Gero. “At least let him wear something, its frigging cold in here too!”

Gero sighed in frustration and nodded at the Android, tossing it the clothes. “Hurry up!” 

The Android took the clothes and undid Vegeta’s cuffs and escorted him back into his room to change.

**_I hope that helps, sorry it’s all I have right now. Choosing anything else would have brought on too much suspicion that I may have more on me._ **

**_It is better than what I’ve got._** He appeared a moment later, changed in the old loose-fitting clothes and hands cuffed in front of him again.

“Let’s go,” Gero grunted irritably.

Bulma walked up to stand next to Vegeta and linked an arm through his as they headed out of the lab and down the halls towards King Cold’s throne room. She took great effort to keep her breathing calm and even as they got closer and closer her heart rate went up so much she could feel her pulse.

**_Calm yourself._** Vegeta said quietly to her, subtly pushing his elbow into his side where her hand was resting, trying to offer her up some form of encouragement.

 She squeezed him back in the crook of his elbow in response. **_I’ll try._**

The massive throne room was packed with people of all races and nationalities to spectate the trial and it made Bulma immediately uncomfortable. Was this being taken seriously or was it a form of entertainment she wondered.

Bulma sat next to Vegeta in the front of the room and infront of Cold. 

There was a loud whistle, drawing Bulma's attention. When she looked, she noticed Jeyice. Her stomach dropped as he winked and mouthed something at her. She wasn't sure what, but she was very sure she didn't want to know. "Great." She groaned. 

**_When this is over, make sure you find some sort of sharp object and carry it on you at all times._ **

**_Good idea._** She said. 

**_If he makes a move on you, you are to gut him._** Vegeta growled. **_That goes to anyone. I do not care who it is._**

Bulma shuttered at the thought. **_I don't know if I can do that,_**

**_It is better than being dragged off into a corner somewhere and raped, woman,_** he replied harshly. **_You need to start considering these things, Bulma. I can no longer protect you and shelter you from it. Not if I am killed after today and certainly not if I am to live in Gero's lab from this day forward. You need to start fending for yourself because that kind of thing is as normal around here as the days of the week. If you see something you like, take it that is their mentality. There are no consequences._**

She didn't reply for a moment, only considered his words. Somehow she always knew that, but it wasn't something she actually consciously feared until yesterday when Jeyice had groped her and now more than anything it was clear that he may be an ongoing problem. **_I still have my ki device. There was nowhere in my room to plug it in on the ship. Hopefully maybe I can find somewhere in the lab to discreetly charge it._**

**_Assuming you are sent to the lab and not the whore house after this. He snorted._ **

**_They have that here too?_ **

Vegeta turned and looked at her in disbelief. **_Are you seriously asking me that? A planet full of fucking low born warriors. What do you think occupies them during their downtime?_**

"Oh, god," she moaned quietly, feeling immediately nauseous. 

**_And not only are you exceptionally attractive, you are my mate. I am not well liked. You will be considered a prize if for no other reason than because you belong to me._** He said, his anger at her for not getting herself out of Vegeta-sei bubbling forth again but he swallowed it. There was no point in being angry about it anymore. 

**_I'll die if that happens._** She said. 

**_Arm yourself._** He said again. **_If you listen to anything I will ever tell you, listen now and arm yourself with something, anything._**

Bulma didn't reply, only felt her face grow warm frim shame at his comment. He was right. And she had let both him and the boys down by not listening to him and not taking his overprotectiveness seriously. That she was here facing this predicament was all on her. 

"My, what a turn out." Cold said looking around the auditorium. "This could become rather interesting. First, before we start with these proceedings, I wish to have a few character witnesses come forth and provide useful information pertaining to Prince Vegeta's overall demeanor and relationship with Lord Frieza before his death."

**_Fuck!_** Vegeta cursed. 

**_Calm down,_** Bulma said quietly. **_This may be a good thing and could work to your advantage. Everyone else has to have seen how horribly he treated you. No one can deny that._**

Vegeta laughed bitterly out loud at her. **_Do not hold your breath. This is going to be nothing more than a complete fucking waste of time. Cold has made his decision._**

**_Then why is he doing this?_ **

**_To prolong my waiting for my demise._ **

"Prince Vegeta, you are to remain silent during these proceedings." Cold said to him. "And as for you, my dear, I will call on you to speak on his behalf when I am ready to hear your end. Until then, you are to have no part. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Bulma replied with a nod. Vegeta simply glared at Cold. 

"Alright, who would like to go first?" Cold asked, gesturing around the room. 

To Bulma's amazement, half the people in the room stood up. **_All of these people have something to say?_**

**_No, they have a complaint against me is more than likely accurate._ **

**_Maybe not,_** she replied confidently. **_At least half of these people has to have something to say in your defense. I can't be the only person defending you._**

Vegeta snorted in response. 

"You, over there," Cold pointed out to someone standing amidst several others. "Yes, you. You may go first."

A large burly man with pale green skin, dark green hair and very handsome face came forward. **_He looks like that guy Zarbon._**

**_That is because he is Zarbon's brother, Marlon._ **

**_Oh, wonderful._ **

Zarbon's brother took a seat next to Cold and introduced himself.

"How long have you known Prince Vegeta?" Cold asked.

"I have known him since his youth, when he first entered Lord Frieza's service as a spoilt, sniveling monkey brat." He replied in a snooty tone, looking down his nose at Vegeta.

“And did you have much interaction with Vegeta at that time?” Cold asked.

“No, he was placed under my brother, Zarbon’s tutelage and care and not mine, thank the gods for that,” he replied. “I only heard stories of his insubordination. He was quite the difficult child from what I remember my brother telling me. I do recall one day on Lord Frieza’s ship, however and I witnessed his poor attitude first hand.”

“Do tell,” Cold nodded.

“Well, it was so long ago, I can barely recall, but from what I do remember, Prince Vegeta and one of his fellow monkey brats were in trouble for not following orders or something. Zarbon was using them as an example and demanded they both kneel and kiss his boots. Prince Vegeta simply refused. His little friend was smart enough to at least kneel.” He said.

“What was the outcome?” Cold asked.

“Well, I must say never have I heard someone of such a young age with such a colorful vocabulary but he simply refused to just yield; he even spit on Zarbon and sustained quite the beating from what I remember. It was simply appalling the lack of respect he showed to his superiors. After about an hour, he was beat into a coma but not before he vowed to kill my brother one day when he was stronger. Unfortunately, no one took the little monkey seriously as years later he did kill him.”

“I see,” Cold said thoughtfully. “And that was on a trip to Vegeta-sei, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know, my lord.”

“Zarbon attempted to violate me mate.” Vegeta said.

“You are not to have a say at this time, Prince Vegeta.” Cold reprimanded him. “We will revisit the incident later on when we speak with your _mate_ on the matter. Until then, you are both to remain quiet.”

After Zarbon’s brother, Marlon had said all he wished to say, the trial went on for hours and hours without a break, so long that Bulma was beginning to have a difficult time staying awake.

Most of the so-called _witnesses_ coming forward to testify against Vegeta seemed to have their own personal vendetta against him that they wanted aired out into the open, rather than having any useful information pertaining to the events surrounding his actions against Lord Frieza.

**_Good grief! Who haven’t you offended in some way, shape or form?_** She asked irritably as Guildo took a seat next on the stand and narrowed his beady little eyes resentfully at Vegeta.

Vegeta quickly smirked as he gave her a side glance, making brief eye contact. **_I served in Frieza’s service for seven years after my mother passed, was off for two and then sent back for almost a year after you. Trust me, I was not in a great frame of mind both times. I was in there with the mind set of either getting out as quickly as possible or killing Lord Frieza as soon as I was able; making friends was not on my list._**

**_I can see that,_** Bulma sighed inwardly.

“He would mock me and berate me non-stop!” Guildo complained. “I think he was just jealous that I was good enough to join the Ginyu Force and he wasn’t!”

Vegeta snorted out loud. 

“Why else was I asked to join and you were never even considered?” Guildo shouted at him snidely from across the room.

“Because everyone knew I would never reduce myself to joining the ranks of that useless clown and pony show of freaks like you,” Vegeta replied mockingly. “I had much better things to do with my time that did not include exotic dancing as part of my training regimen.”

“Exactly! Like plot and scheme against our beloved Lord Frieza!” he accused, ignoring Vegeta’s degrading remark.

“Oh, please,” Vegeta snorted. “How many times did I kick your ass in the halls of the barracks for shooting your mouth off and Lord Frieza happened to be around to offer me a far better mission than anything he would send you goofs out to accomplish? Nor did he care that I had just handed you your ass.”

“Because he knew he needed to keep a tight leash on you, you _monkey_ scum!”

“Enough!” Cold growled, “That will be all, Guildo, thank you.”

Guildo growled in annoyance before stepping down all the while glaring at Vegeta. “Mark my words, if Cold decides to execute you, I will insist on first row seats!”

Vegeta smirked at him in reply but said nothing.

“You are not to have a say in these proceedings, Prince Vegeta.” Cold reminded him.

“My apologies, however the witness addressed me personally, I felt it necessary to respond,” he replied in an unapologetic tone. “I would like it to be known that I was personally harassed by all members of the Ginyu Force on more than one occasion. Any and all negative run ins I did have with them were not always instigated by myself.”

“Noted.” Cold nodded, however Bulma could tell that he had more or less simply dismissed Vegeta’s comment altogether. “Now, if no one else has anything further to add to the character witness of Prince Vegeta, I would like to proceed by calling up his mate, Bulma.”

**_Oh, god!_** She said to herself as her stomach dropped. To both her dismay and relief, no one stood up or made a move to want to say anything more against Vegeta; _not a bad thing, I guess,_ she thought to herself. _Except now I’m on the hot seat._

Bulma wasn’t sure what else to do as the seconds ticked on into about a minute and no one else came forward so she finally stood up. She looked down at Vegeta almost pleadingly. **_What if whatever I say doesn’t help?_**

**_Then it doesn’t. Just be honest and mindful of what you say._** He said gently. **_All you can do is answer his questions and tell the accounts the best you can._**

**_But what if my best isn’t good enough, Vegeta?_ **

**_Then it is completely out of your hands._ **

Bulma swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She could do this; Vegeta's life depended on it. 

“Come on up, my dear, I will not bite.” Cold gestured to the side where the others had taken their stand previously. She nodded and slowly may her way up towards him and took a seat. "So tell us, Bulma, how did you come to meet Prince Vegeta?" Cold asked pleasantly. 

"I was taken from my home planet before _your son,_ Lord Frieza, destroyed it in a purge," she answered, trying to sound confident and not rattled. "I was sold in a slave auction to a pleasure tavern and a few weeks after my arrival, Prince Vegeta and some of his fellow comrades showed up and he purchased me as his own."

"Legally?" Cold asked. 

Bulma blinked a moment and then looked at Vegeta, deferring to him before answering. She had assumed everything had been fine at the time and it never occurred to her that it wouldn’t have been.

Vegeta nodded once in response.

"Yes, sir. Legally," she replied.

"So he bought and paid for you rather than taking you for himself by force and destroying the establishment." Cold clarified. 

Bulma held back a heavy sigh; what difference did it make? "Yes, I was bought and paid for. Would you like the name of the establishment and the name of the owner? I can provide that for you so you can verify it for yourself if it is that important to you; it was a tavern on Vegas."

“Alright; no, no that will not be necessary, but thank you,” Cold said, shaking his head. "And after that you were his personal concubine, I understand?"

"I was, yes."

"I see; and how long until he took you as his mate?" 

"I don't know, not that long," she replied, shaking her head. "A few weeks maybe?"

"And it was in that time frame Frieza came to Vegeta-sei on a diplomatic visit?"

Bulma shrugged.  "Yes, he was there, but I wasn't privy to the nature of his visit."

"Were you mated to Prince Vegeta at that time?"

Bulma looked at Vegeta, trying to hide her exasperation at all of the personal questions. What did any of this matter?

**_Just answer and tell him everything to the best of your ability._** Vegeta said, though he wasn't even looking at her. **_It does not matter anymore._**

She swallowed a lump in her throat as she felt the despair coming from him. He may have given up, but she certainly wasn't going to! "We were married, or _mated_ , sorry, during Lord Frieza's visit," she answered, feeling her face growing warm but deciding in that moment that disclosing everything at this point may be their best bet. "We were going to wait, but Vegeta was concerned about my safety after a rather frightening experience with one of your son's general's. Being that we would forge a bond that mentally and emotionally binds us, he thought it was the best way to protect me should anything else happen."

"Was that Zarbon you are referring to?"

"Yes," she nodded, her stomach churning uncomfortably at the mere mention of his name. 

"And as we already established, it was Prince Vegeta who so violently killed him, correct?" Cold asked with a frown.

"Yes he did, however Zarbon was out of line!" Bulma said harshly. "If Vegeta hadn't been near, he would have raped me! Zarbon knew that Vegeta was not comfortable with me in his presence in a private setting, yet allowed it because Lord Frieza and his father insisted just to spite him. The condition was that he not touch me and he overstepped. Where I come from, any man would have reacted the same if someone was trying to violate their wife in that way."

Cold considered her admission for a moment. "Alright, that seems fair and just, however you were nothing more than his concubine at that point in time and therefore it was considered poor hospitality for Vegeta to act out in such a violent way."

"But it was his intent to take me as his mate as soon as our circumstances allowed it," she countered. "In his mind, I was already his mate and off limits. Sure no one else knew that but Vegeta had made it clear in no uncertain terms to everyone that I belonged to _him_ and him _alone_. Therefore he was very much within his right to protect me from any and all harm."

"Alright, Zarbon was not my concern but he was my son's best general which means something," Cold said and Bulma immediately remembered right then something that Vegeta had told her right after he had killed Zarbon and she had been so shook up about it.  

"True, but despite that, Vegeta was able to defeat him with little to no effort-"

Cold snorted mockingly. 

"It's true! I was there and saw the whole thing," she insisted boldly. "It was over very quickly. In any case, something that I have come to learn since I was taken from my home is that on this side of the galaxy, strength is all that matters. Yes Zarbon was strong and he was favored and what not and stood at Frieza's right hand but if that general was so easily taken down by one of his own subordinates, then that general had no business being there." She said, trying to remember exactly what Vegeta's words had been about it that night. "Frieza had offered Vegeta the position as First Lieutenant and had apparently not so subtly indicated to him that all he had to do was defeat Zarbon and the position was his. It was an eventuality anyway."

"True enough," Cold nodded in agreement. "No one wants a general that can be so easily eliminated and perhaps Zarbon's days as Frieza's right hand man were up; your argument is not without merit, my dear. However it is still a very strong testimony of Vegeta's violent tendencies and lack of respect for not only his rank but for the proper way of things to be handled and it would seem that you are to blame for his lapse of judgement on this among other things that we will be examining more in depth into in just a little bit."

"Wait, _wait_ just a minute so I can make sure I am following you correctly here; so I am taken against my own will and nearly raped by some asshole pig and my husband helps prevent that and it's _My_ fault? Is that how I am supposed to interpret that?"

Cold thought a moment, "Maybe not your fault, but it was because of your presence and influence that Vegeta acted out the way he did, so in a sense, yes."

Bulma snorted in disgust. "Wow, that's unbelievable. Here's an idea, why not teach your soldiers how to exercise a little self-control where women are concerned! No means no!"

Laughter erupted throughout the room and Bulma felt her face burn in anger and had to swallow back another lump growing in the back of her throat and blink back tears of anger and frustration.   _Vegeta was right,_ there was no way to win this. No matter what she would say to defend him, he would still be seen as the bad guy in this for doing the right thing and it was apparently her fault for simply being the female he cared about. 

**_You are doing well, Woman,_** Vegeta said softly to her, looking intently at her now. **_This will be difficult and you may be fighting a losing battle but you are doing just fine._**

**_I can't defend you against barbaric reasoning like that, Vegeta!_** She panicked, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. **_I'm doing the best I can._**

**_I know, Woman, I know; and I love you for that._** He said so quietly into her mind it was practically a whisper and she'd barely heard it over the ruckus and laughter still filling the room. 

Bulma had to clench her teeth to keep from succumbing to the overwhelming emotion that was trying so hard to escape from below her carefully crafted confident demeanor she was trying so hard to keep. **_Don't you do that!_** She said harshly to him, swallowing the painful lump in her throat. **_Don't you dare give up! If you give up, Vegeta, I have nothing. I will not sit here and be mocked for trying to save you if you've already given up. Do not do that to me!_**

He frowned at her, his eyes hardening as he looked at her; had she not known him so well she wouldn't have even noticed. 

**_It's not fair!_** She continued to rant at him. **_I'm sorry for everything, that I didn't get out in time and ended up here and that your home and everything you held dear to you was destroyed but you need to snap out of this!_**

**_Not everything,_** he said to her. **_Not yet._**

**_Okay then, pull it together!_** She said in a little lesser harsh tone than she'd been using. **_Let me fight for you for a change. Have faith in me! I always have faith in you and you always come through for me. Let me at least attempt to come through for you._**

He subtly smirked at her from across and the room and nodded once. **_I do have faith in you. It is King Cold that I have no faith in._**

**_Ok good, because if you don't, I can't do this and I may as well not bother here and let what's going to happen take its course._ **

**_So long as you do not blame yourself if things do not go your way,_** he said. **_I have not given up, I am simply preparing for and accepting the worst, which at this point in time seems to be quite imminent at the moment though it is of no fault of yours should the verdict not be in our favor._**

**_I know that it's not looking good but I still need to try!_** She insisted. 

**_I would not expect anything less of you as you would not expect anything less of me if I were able to get us out of this hell hole._** He said intently, shame washing through him again that he could not simply blast everyone in this room, grab her, and find the boys and go.

**_I love you,_** she said, noting that the room had quieted down again and that the questions would likely resume in a moment. **_I can do this,_**

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly for a split second and he subtly nodded once at her. God he loved his woman! Despite the overwhelming feeling of despair that had taken hold and was dragging him down into a deep pit of depression and hopelessness, he knew she was right: it was unfair to her for him to succumb to it. Who knew?  Maybe she could talk her way out of this. Whether she could or not, he was proud of her for at least fighting for him the only way she could. 

"Moving on, my dear, I can understand entirely your position however you fail to see my position. Every offence Prince Vegeta has committed was in your name, because of _you_. I am not meaning to say that improper advances made against you were deserved, I am simply noting that the influence of your presence in Vegeta's life was the reason for him making these poor decisions."

"Decisions to protect and spare his wife-"

"He was a warrior, a soldier!" Cold cut her off.

"I _Am_ a warrior!" Vegeta bellowed. 

"No, you _were_ a warrior; you were the perfect warrior from what I heard until _she_ came along," Cold snapped at him, pointing accusingly at Bulma.

"And that's my fault?" Bulma asked him, angry now and not caring. "As far as I'm concerned, _all_ of this is your son's fault! We are all here because of _him_! He is the one who had my planet purged and destroyed. If he hadn't done that, I would still be living happily on my own planet, doing my own thing. I wouldn't have been taken and sold as at slave or purchased as a concubine; I wouldn't have ruined some perfect warrior's life and reputation because of a chance meeting! If that is how closed minded you are on this, then look at it from that perspective! Because if your son hadn't destroyed my planet, I am sure everything would still be as it was! Ever for one minute consider that maybe his own actions are partially to blame in all of this?"

Cold glared at her. "You are from a planet of weak beings who happened to have useful technology. It was one of your own who sought us out. Your planet had no use to us so it was destroyed. That is the way it is done. Frankly, I am surprised my son even went to your planet and handled it personally. Usually things like that were left to our many soldiers, not unlike the Saiyans. If I recall, it was none other than your precious prince who was rather efficient at purging planets. He was a great asset to my son until you came along. I wonder how you would feel about him if it had been he who had been commanding the mission to destroy your home world."

Vegeta looked down in shame. It could have been a possibility. Even though he had not been in Frieza's service, Lord Frieza would still commission the Saiyans to purge planets of his choosing for various reasons. Had he, Nappa, Raditz and Kakarott been sent to her planet they would have destroyed her along with the rest of the planet, no questions asked and he would have never known her.

**_Don't dwell on it, Vegeta,_** she said to him, picking up on his train of thought. **_It didn't happen that way, so it’s a moot point only meant to throw me off._**

  ** _I know, but it could have happened that way._**

**_Nah, you'd gave spotted me and wouldn't have been able to stop yourself from taking me with you._** She teased trying to keep him in a positive frame of mind. 

"Well, it didn't happen that way and here we are," she replied boldly, closing that discussion. 

"So after becoming Prince Vegeta's mate what happened then? I was under the understanding that he sent you away and my son allegedly destroyed your ship in a dramatic attempt at your life but you somehow miraculously survived? Do tell,"

"There's no _"allegedly"_ about it, sir. Vegeta tried to send me away someplace safe and Lord Frieza destroyed the ship. If it weren't for Kakarott's quick thinking, we both would have been killed.”

“Do you know why he tried to kill you?” Cold asked.

“Because he had some _sick_ obsession with him and thought that it was me standing in his way distracting Vegeta from being his general as well as roma-” she started to reply in a snippy tone.

**_Do not go there!_** Vegeta raged at her in her mind in alarm and anger as he realized what she meant to say. **_That topic is off limits, you know that!_**

**_I know, but it’s the truth!_** She argued. **_What if knowing about this saves you?_**

**_I do not care!_** He spat. **_It is not to be discussed. Not here, not in front of all these freaks, not ever!_**

**_But-_ **

**_I said no!_ **

Bulma looked at him in disbelief. She understood his embarrassment over what had happened and him not wanting all of these people to hear about his deepest shame, but it was such a huge reason as to why he hated Frieza as much as he had. It was a strong testimony to how vile and disgusting Frieza really had been. She understood King Cold being angry about the death of his son and wanting justice and retribution as a parent, but at what point did a parent sit back and be honest to themselves and see that their child was a horrible being and accept that maybe they had been a part of something that wasn’t forgivable?

What if it was this that helped clear Vegeta’s name, got him off the hook?

**_I do not care, you will not bring it up!_ **

**_Look, Vegeta, I know it might be humiliating, but what if-_ **

**_NO!!_ **

**_Alright, then,_** she sighed. **_I don’t agree, but I will respect that if that’s what you want._**

“I beg your pardon?” Cold asked, looking furious.

“I am sorry, but I am not at liberty to say anything more other than maybe you didn’t know your son as well as you think you did.” She said icily.

“I will not have you spreading disgusting lies about my son!”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Bulma sighed wanting to kick someone. “Going back to your original inquiry as to _why_ Lord Frieza wanted me dead, I guess he and Vegeta’s father felt it best if I was taken out of the picture permanently and so that was that. Vegeta was then sent back into Frieza’s service and served as his new general.”

“Yet you survived with Kakarott and found someplace to stay?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Where?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged elusively. “Some planet that Kakarott found.”

“And how was it that you got back in touch with Vegeta?” Cold asked her. “Rumor has it that it was you and Kakarott who were the ones who caused all the problems on Bellatrix in an effort to get Vegeta’s attention.”

**_Uh ohh,_** she thought. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Are you aware of how much trouble you caused?”

“I have a pretty good idea, sir.” she answered quietly.

“Do you realize that as a result of your little stunt that the economy of the entire fuel industry nearly collapsed because of the months’ worth of damage you did?” Cold asked her. “Do you know how much of a financial hit we took because of that? That other planets who depended on us to supply them with fuel had to go out and purchase it from our competitors and that we ourselves had to be reduced to buying fuel from our own competitors? We are still recovering financially from that debacle!”

“Sorry?” Bulma squeaked, not having anything to say in her defense.

**_I told you that you were in deep shit for your activities._** Vegeta said to her, shaking her head. **_You will be lucky you aren’t executed just for that alone._**

Bulma felt the blood drain from her face. She had nearly forgotten all about that. “I-I am so sorry, sir, I had no idea. At the time, it was only to draw Lord Frieza’s attention to something so that he would send Vegeta to investigate and I could let him know of my survival. Until then, he had no knowledge that I lived. I acted alone and independently and I think it’s important to note that I only affected low production areas, I never caused any irreparable damage, only enough to cause a delay and enough to make sure Frieza was concerned enough to send someone to investigate and I only did this until he finally sent Vegeta.”

Cold glared at her as she explained her actions. “So Prince Vegeta was not in on this little scheme as a means to sabotage our empire?”

“No, Vegeta had no clue until he arrived and I approached him and explained that it was me who was doing this,” she answered quickly, not wanting Vegeta to take the fall for this as well. “I had no idea the extent of the damage I was doing, I was only doing it to find my way back to Vegeta. We both left together the next day. That’s why it abruptly came to an end.”

"And after Prince Vegeta abandoned his post you both did what, resided happily ever after on some obscure little planet somewhere?"

"Yes, sir." She nodded. 

"For how long?"

"Not sure, a month or two?" She answered, deferring to Vegeta who was still not looking at her. He was still angry with her for attempting to use his nightmares as a means of defense strategy. 

"And how did it come to pass that you ended up on Frieza's ship?"

Bulma sighed and went into the story about how Yamcha had kidnapped her and brought her Frieza against her will as a means of luring Vegeta.

She told them all about Dr. Gero as well and what he had done to her mind and how it had been Frieza's every intention to enslave Vegeta, herself and their unborn child at the time.

“Once again, had Lord Frieza just left us both alone, everything would have been fine.” She said. “Vegeta only acted out as he did because he was trying to protect his family; nothing more, nothing less. There was no premeditated plan to assassinate Lord Frieza.”

Cold nodded at one of his men who brought up a video screen. 

"See here, the brutal and inhumane way Prince Vegeta ended my son's life." Cold said to her. 

The screen showed a black and white surveillance video of a white-haired Vegeta blasting Frieza to the floor and then stepping on his tail, slowly breaking the bones one by one up the length of the shaft and looking as though he were greatly savoring the moment before severing it completely. There was no audio so no one knew the content of the conversation that was taking place, much to Vegeta’s relief.

You could tell, however Frieza’s obvious distress over the destruction of his tail and predicament in general and the gleeful look on Vegeta’s face showed how much he was unbothered over his former master’s agony and helpless position.

Bulma’s stomach dropped as she watched the video; never had she seen her mate look so cold and ruthless; the look on his face almost sent a chill through her bones right then and had she not known anything about Frieza or how evil and vile he really had been, she would have agreed, that this was a pretty damning piece of evidence against Vegeta and it perfectly showcased how brutal he really could be if the situation called for it.

Sitting there, however she wondered what she could say to defend Vegeta’s actions now? She had nothing.

The events on the tape didn’t last much longer, it looked almost as though Frieza had been begging for his life or to be released and Vegeta cocked his head to the side in amusement before blasting him altogether and finishing him once and for all.

They watched Vegeta stand there over Frieza’s body for a few moments, seemingly taking in what he had just done before he blasted Frieza’s head with a ki ball, ensuring that he was in fact dead for good. Cold paused the tape at that point.

“Anything to say, my dear?” he asked he calmly, knowing that there wasn’t much that she could say.

“Only that if Frieza had left me alone that Vegeta wouldn’t have done that,” she answered.

“You honestly believe that?” Cold snorted.

“I do, yes.” Bulma nodded confidently. “Vegeta wanted to simply be left alone. Had your son not made a point of going after me, Vegeta would have left him alone. Vegeta’s next order of business had been to fix things with his father and return home to Vegeta-sei; Frieza wasn’t even a thought until he put himself into the equation.” 

**_Liar._** Vegeta snorted in her mind.

**_I know, but what else do you want me to say?_** She replied in irritation. **_I’m trying to help you, remember? If I say Frieza was number one on your hit list as soon as possible it’s over for you, for us!_**

Vegeta didn’t say anything and he still wouldn’t look at her; he was still angry that she had attempted to use the darkest secrets of his personal life as a defense strategy. Honestly, at this point he almost didn’t care about the outcome anymore.

Bulma took a deep breath in frustration with him, picking up on his thoughts of defeat; she still couldn’t bring herself to not do everything she possibly could to get him out of this. “Frieza went out of his way to torment Vegeta, sir. Everyone has their breaking point. I am not at liberty to disclose certain facts, I was not present, nor is it my story to tell, but your son spent years making Vegeta’s life a living hell and when he took me while pregnant, that was the breaking point.

“You are upset and angry over your son’s death. As a parent, I completely understand that; so how do you think Vegeta felt when his pregnant wife was taken to be used as a slave and his son, or sons as it turned out to be, to be raised by another? Not only that, but you know as well as I do that his sentiments for his family would be exploited and used as a means to control him.” She finished passionately.

Cold glared at her a moment but said nothing.

“As a parent, please be honest with yourself and put yourself in Vegeta’s shoes,” she pleaded. “You want justice for your son, when it was the fault of your son’s actions that led to his own demise. If the roles were reversed, would you not go after and destroy someone if they had done what your son did? Obviously you would. Is that not why we are all here?”

Cold nodded silently to himself and looked from Bulma to Vegeta. “She’s _good_ ,” he said, addressing Vegeta.

“I know.” Vegeta smirked at him, his pride in her showing despite the fact that he was still angry with her.

“I can see why you put so much faith in her,” he commented, seemingly deep in thought. “Well, this has taken much longer than I had originally anticipated and I have grown weary of it. I think it best we leave things as is for today and continue on tomorrow.”

Bulma nodded, she herself was feeling very drained, both emotionally and mentally.

“I think we should finish this, _today_!”  Vegeta growled at Cold.

“You’ve waited this long for the outcome, what’s one more day?” Cold smirked at him. “You,” Cold pointed out to two androids. “Take them both to a holding cell until tomorrow morning.”

Vegeta snorted in annoyance as he stood up, glaring daggers at Cold. The Bastard was doing this to him on purpose.

Bulma stood up and walked up towards Vegeta, wrapping her arm around his possessively as the two androids approached. **_So these are them, huh? They don’t look like much, sure are pretty though._**

**_Shut up._** Vegeta sighed.

“I will have more questions for you tomorrow, my dear.” Cold said as they were led out of the room.

“Yes, sir.” Bulma nodded in response as they left and were taken down a different hallway than she had previously been in.

“We aren’t going back into the lab?” she asked one of the Androids as they walked in a hurried pace. 

“No, you are to be detained in a holding cell.” It replied.

**_So we’re going to jail then?_** She asked Vegeta.

He didn’t reply, only looked ahead, stone faced as they walked.

It didn’t take them long to make it to a cool room with cells along the wall. One of the androids opened one of the cells and indicated for Vegeta to walk in.

Thinking quickly, Bulma dragged him in with her. “We will stay together.” She said to them in a tone that wasn’t up for debate.

The androids shrugged, pushed Vegeta inside and locked the door behind them.

"How could you bring _that_ up?" He asked in outrage once he knew they were alone.

"I'm so sorry, Vegeta." She said, trying to remove his cuffs. Fortunately they didn’t need a key and were easily unlocked. "I wasn't thinking-"

"Clearly not!" He cut her off, tossing the cuffs on the floor and walking away from her. "Is it not bad enough that Cold is exploiting everything I have done since we have met and has mocked me as weak because of my sentiments over you that I also need to have the details of what his disgusting son did to me made public knowledge as well? Woman, anything I disclosed to you about what was done to me was done so in the strictest of confidence with the expectation that it would never again be spoken about under any circumstances."

"I know, Vegeta, I know; I'm sorry! It wasn't my intention to exploit you or embarrass you, but to defend you," she explained, sliding down the wall and sitting down. "Cold isn't being fair in this trial against you, so I am using everything in my arsenal to discredit Frieza and make you look better."

"By making me out to be a weak, defenseless victim!?" He shouted. "How is that better?"

"I understand how you could feel that way, but-"

"The hell you do!" He snarled. "What would you understand about having someone-" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. 

Bulma clenched her teeth and nodded silently as she put her hand on her mouth. If she opened it up to say anything to him, she would end up telling him about his father and right now was not the time. However she did relate to his expressed anger at her for even considering mentioning such a thing; she was still so disgusted  and shamed  by what had taken place with his father that she didn't want anyone to ever know about it; Vegeta especially. Fortunately anyone who knew about that was dead so she could hopefully keep it to herself for the rest of her days. 

"You're right," she whispered once she felt confident she wouldn't blurt out her own experience, even if it was in her own defense. She couldn't do that to him right now. "I'm sorry, I should have thought of how you would feel about it before mentioning it."

His back was to her but she could see his jaw pulsing still in agitation.

"I don't want to fight with you, Vegeta; not right now." She said pleadingly as she stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and hugged him. Her heart sank as she felt him tense up at the contact and she knew he was withdrawing from her. While she understood, considering the circumstances, that didn't make it hurt any less.

Vegeta sighed heavily and laced his fingers with hers that were wrapped around his waist. **_I need to distance myself if I am to remain strong._**

**_But I need you if I'm going to be strong,_ **

She said, hugging him tighter and resting her cheek on his back for a moment, just happy to be able to physically touch him. "You're cold," she murmured to him, letting go and walking in front of him. 

Vegeta placed both his hands on either side of her face and looked at her so intensely she almost lost herself in the dark pits of his eyes as she stared right back at him, reading the carefully concealed emotions that were brewing like a storm he was trying so hard to contain. 

He opened his mouth and then closed it as though had been about to say something but then couldn't. What could he say to her? 

She closed the gap between them and kissed him; chastely at first and when he responded to her, he pulled her close to him and kissed her within an inch of her life with such a fiery passion, it threatened to consume them both in that moment. 

As her arms wound around his neck and she kissed him back with everything she had, she felt him slowly begin to drop his mental wall he had so carefully kept up so she would not see and feel everything that was running through his mind. 

Feeling brave, she delved into the bond, trying to see and feel everything he had kept from her ever since this whole nightmare began. 

He balked a moment at her deliberate intrusion into his thoughts but instead of closing himself off to her, he let her in. What if this was their last real moment together? He did not want to leave her permanently without her knowing how he truly felt. 

**_Don't think that way._** She said to him.

He took a few steps back until his back was against the wall and he slid down the length of it, taking her down with him, his lips never breaking from hers. 

She nestled herself in his lap, straddling his hips, kissing him back hungrily, urgently, not holding anything back from him.

**_Stop blaming yourself,_** she said to him, pulling away so she could look him in the eye. **_You're not a fortune teller. You did everything you could have done to win this and you went over and above in your attempt to keep us safe. It was me who dropped the ball on that. Not you._**

He frowned lightly at her and cupped the left side of her face with his hand as he looked at her. She looked tired and worn down but her eyes shone back brightly at him reflecting nothing other than love and sorrow in their blue depths. He knew it was horribly selfish, but in that moment he was glad she was here with him.  

"It's not selfish. I'm scared to death but I'm glad I'm here if things go bad for you." She said out loud. "If this is it and I was someplace else, this is still where I'd want to be."

He shook his head at her. "Stupid woman," he mumbled, leaning in to kiss her again. 

Bulma was overwhelmed as he unleashed a torrent of emotions onto her right then. What he could not put into words, he sent to her through the bond and it hurt, god did it hurt and she understood why he had kept himself closed off from her in an effort to shelter her. 

As she kissed him back hungrily and mentally pushed her mind deeper into his, she saw it and felt it; he was absolutely petrified for what may happen to her if he was gone. He knew she needed him as much as he needed her in order to make it through hardships. He was worried about the boys too, but it was different. It wasn't fear for their lives, it was more dread and sadness in that they wouldn't grow up the way he would have liked. Yes, it grieved him but he knew ultimately they would be alright.  It was her he was afraid for. Even if he could not physically protect her, at least if he was here, he could be an emotional support to her. Whatever may happen, she could see it through with him at her side, if not physically then mentally. 

Thoughts of Jeyice flashed through his mind and feelings of rage and fear for her washed over him. He knew the orange skinned man had his eye on her and this deeply disturbed him.

**_I don't want you privy to that if it happens,_** she said, ending their kiss and leaning into him to rest her head on his shoulder. **_Hopefully he'll be sent out on missions and be too busy to remember that I'm here._**

**_Not likely,_** he sighed. **_You heard how much everyone detests me. Most of them would jump on any available opportunity to do harm to you or Trunks for no other reason than to hurt me._**

**_Let's hope they don't,_** was all she could say even though she knew he was probably right. She put aside her own fears for her wellbeing as she tightened her grip around him and buried her face in his shoulder. 

They both clung to each other tightly, not speaking anymore about what couldn't be changed and what may or may not happen. For right now they were together and that was all that mattered. 

Vegeta closed his eyes and took in her scent as he wrapped his tail around her waist and gently caressed her sides and back with his hands comfortingly reveling in having her close to him again where he could pretend for the moment that he could still protect her from any and all harm. 

Neither of them slept despite how tired and drained they were. They simply held each other close taking comfort from each other's company.

 


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25** _

_**She felt him behind her, his tail constricting around her upper torso and waist tightly, crushing her slowly, deliberately wanting to drag out the feeling of asphyxiation. She tried to inhale as much as she could, but it was difficult as the moment she exhaled, his hold on her tightened and would not allow her enough give to fill her lungs to their full capacity again.** _

_**As panic began to set in she heard him chuckle deeply and felt his hands begin to wander and touch her all over. She shuddered in disgust as she swallowed down a weave of nausea.** _

" _ **You are such a weak little thing," he commented, squeezing one of her breasts painfully, causing her to cry out. "I wonder how long until I crush your fail body?" he asked, tightening his hold on her.**_

Bulma started in panic and sat right up as she felt a pair or arms tighten around her; it took her mind a second to remember where she was and who she was with. To her relief she was still sitting on Vegeta's lap in the cell of Cold's planet. She was still straddling him and had obviously fallen asleep against his chest at some point.

"Hmmn," Vegeta grunted, loosening his hold on her. He caught the initial look of terror in her eyes before relief took over and she looked away from him quickly before leaning into him again, resting her head back on his shoulder. He noted her heart was beating a mile a minute and she was still shaking.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She wasn't sure when she had dozed off but apparently she had.

"I did not mean to wake you," he said, sounding hoarse. "It sounded as though you were having a bad dream."

"Oh," she replied, hoping he had not seen it. "Maybe, I don't remember." She lied.

"Whatever it was, your subconscious mind did not share it." he replied.

Bulma sat back up to look at him. "Probably better that way anyway since I've had plenty of nightmares as of late."

"Me too," he admitted.

She touched the side of his face and noted how tired he looked. "Did you manage to get some sleep?"

"No," he shook his head. "I dozed off a couple of times but not enough to get any rest."

Bulma's gaze fell down to the ki collar around his neck. "I need to find a way to get this thing off of you," she murmured to herself, touching it and trying to find any nook or cranny that may help her to figure out how to shut it off or remove it. "This is completely different from the one I made."

This collar was about two inches wide and in inch thick, all the way around and it fit fairly tight around his neck; she could just barely slide her fingers underneath it. It was smooth metal with no holes, switches or seams in it from what she could tell. "I still don't know how he got this thing on your neck with no seams or anything." She commented absently to herself.

"I do not know, I was out and woke up with the damned thing around my neck," he grumbled, taking her injured hand and looking at it. "This is the best the Namek could do?"

"Yea," she commented shortly, yanking her hand back and focusing on the collar again. "That's as good as it gets unless I can convince Gero to surgically fix it."

Vegeta nodded. "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter," she answered, still feeling under the collar meticulously for anything to help her figure it out.

"It does matter," he insisted.

"Well I already told you I don't know," she sighed in exasperation. "I woke up with it crushed after I was arrested. Someone probably stepped on it."

Vegeta nodded, though he wasn't convinced. He was going to ask her if it was his father who had done it but they were jolted as they heard the door being unlocked.

They both managed to stand up and face the door quickly before it opened. Two androids stood there. "It is time to resume." One of them said.

"What, we don't get anything to eat?" Bulma huffed. Not that she was actually hungry but it was more the principle of the matter and the fact that she would make sure Vegeta could get some nourishment in him. His face was already beginning to look gaunt and sallow.

_**It may not matter by the end of today.**_ He said to her.

"The trial is to resume immediately," one of them repeated as the other one walked in to pick up Vegeta's discarded cuffs off the floor and re cuffed him.

They lead them down the halls and back into the crowded throne room. Bulma frowned, thinking that it looked like it was even more crowded today than it had been yesterday and wondered how seriously this was being taken? It felt like more of an entertainment event at this point than a trial. It made her angry that the outcome of Vegeta's life was nothing more than a spectacle.

They both took the same seats they had the previous day and waited for King Cold, who wasn't there yet. The noise and the energy in the room from various conversations being held and insults being thrown at Vegeta was almost deafening and they both hoped that Cold would arrive soon if for no other reason that the room would be quiet.

A few minutes later Cold walked in and took his seat at his throne.

"I would like to wrap this up fairly quickly, as it has taken up enough of my time," he announced in a bored tone. "Miss Bulma, would you take a seat so we may resume these proceedings where we left off?"

Bulma nodded and got up. Her stomach was in knots as she made her way up next to Cold. She offered a half smile at Vegeta and sat down.

"What happened on Vegeta-sei, my dear?" Cold asked, getting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously with a frown. "You destroyed it."

"What I mean is, what happened with the business of King Vegeta hiding from me once I had his son in my custody?"

Bulma felt her stomach drop. "I wouldn't know," she shrugged and shook her head. "I was arrested and thrown in jail as soon as the king had news that Vegeta had been taken into your custody. I didn't hear anything until I was taken by your men to be brought here. That's all I know."

"Yet you mentioned to me on the day of your arrival that King Vegeta was dead." Cold reminded her. "What do you know of that?"

"I don't know anything," she answered again, feeling flustered because she _had_ said that. "It was a rumor that he was dead. I don't know one way or another if he was or not. My words to you yesterday were spoken out of anger, not out of any insight on my part."

"My men who were sent to retrieve you and to investigate the _supposed_ death of King Vegeta were told that he had been killed first by a few of his whores and then they were of the understanding that it was another Saiyan soldier who killed him, though the reasons were unknown. What do you know of these rumors?"

Vegeta looked at her with interest as she became more and more flustered. Sure it didn't matter now, but he himself wanted to know. _**What happened with my father, Bulma?**_ He asked her. He had been so distraught yesterday that he hadn't even thought to ask her in private. When she'd woken up he was going to ask but they had been interrupted to come here.

Bulma looked at him and swallowed down a wave of emotion; she couldn't tell him. Not here, not now; not _ever_.

"I'm waiting, my dear," Cold sighed in frustration. "You know, your Prince Vegeta was so confident in your testimony over the whereabouts and happenings of his father that he trusted you with the wellbeing of his entire planet; so much so, that he talked me into waiting to hear your testimony before destroying Vegeta-sei. Unfortunately, Paragus was not to be trusted and so I decided it was a better idea to destroy it no matter what you had to say. In any case, I am still quite curious to know what happened and why King Vegeta avoided me since the day of his son's capture and I am confident that you are the only one who can shed some light on the matter."

Bulma thought for a moment. "I-I don't see why it matters at this point. He's dead now."

"Was he killed on Vegeta-sei when I destroyed it and was simply choosing to avoid me, or was he killed beforehand as his advisor insisted, or was he off planet at the time of Vegeta-sei's destruction and is he on his way here now to betray me?"

Bulma shook her head, unsure of what to say. She knew that Vegeta had been hoping that perhaps his father was planning an escape for him, she had sensed it fleetingly in his thoughts. She couldn't tell him what had actually happened, she just couldn't. However she couldn't lie and say the king was on his way here either and give him false hope, that wasn't fair either.

"Well?" Cold bellowed. "I would like to get this thing over and done with sometime today! I am getting bored and have other matters to attend to and this damned thing is already taking more time than I had hoped. Answer the question."

"Alright!" she snapped back, looking at Vegeta and the expectant look on his face, knowing that he was probably even more anxious to hear her answer than Cold was. "He was still on Vegeta-sei. I didn't have contact with him but for the one time immediately after I was taken in, but he was planning to lay low and come for his son."

"I _knew_ it!" Cold hissed between grit teeth. "Was he still on planet when it was destroyed?"

"As far as I am aware, yes." She answered.

"And his plans for you?"

"I was still to be sent here, to you with one of my sons," she said, looking Vegeta in the eye as she replied to Cold's questions. "He wanted me out of the picture for good. The only reason he didn't kill me then was because of his prior agreement with you."

"But he had been making plans of betrayal against me?" Cold asked again.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Well, then it is fortunate that I destroyed that planet of double crossing monkeys three weeks ago since your testimony would have sealed their fate in the end anyway!" he gloated triumphantly. "You may think you were clever, Vegeta, in making me delay. By then, who knows, your father may have been on his way by now! You are just as deceitful as your sire!"

"He didn't know!" Bulma interjected quickly before Vegeta had a chance to retort. "The King didn't tell him; they parted on bad terms because of me. He didn't have any intention of betraying you or going after his son until _after_ he realized the full weight of his betrayal; he regretted it as soon as it happened. He was acting alone, Paragus was not in favor of his decision. Which was why he probably lied to you. He was trying to sway his decision or maybe was plotting to have him killed because he was determined to stick with the original agreement."

_**Really?**_ Vegeta asked her, moved by the notion that his father may have had a change of heart. _**I still would not have left here without you.**_ He told her, remembering that she had not been a part of his father's plans.

_**I know,**_ she said, offering him up a sympathetic smile. While it made her nearly physically ill to say anything good about Vegeta's father, she decided that it was better for Vegeta to remember him that way than for him to know what had actually happened. He would never find out otherwise. She was the only one left who could actually give any kind of credible testimony and she would take the true story to her grave if she had to. _**I'm sorry it worked out this way, Vegeta.**_

_**It would not have mattered.** _

_**Oh yea, what's this about you placing the fate of your people behind my testimony?**_ She asked, shocked and not entirely pleased with the notion. Especially since it seemed like she would have failed him and his people in the long run anyway.

_**I would have told you, but it did not matter as you can see. Just as this entire trial is just a big farce and a complete waste of time. However, yes, I did trust you.** _

"Well, I believe that is all I need to know, you may take your seat." Cold sighed.

Bulma nodded and went back to sit next to Vegeta again.

"Now what am I to do with you? I would keep you as a soldier because I have use for you, however you certainly cannot be trusted." Cold started after staring at Vegeta long and hard for a moment.

Vegeta clenched his jaw and growled at him. Honestly, he wished at this point that he would just kill him already and be done with this.

Bulma reached for his hand and squeezed it.

_**Whatever happens, be strong. Do not fall apart in front of them.**_ He said, hoping that if Cold did decide to just blast him and be done with it, he wouldn't do it immediately in front of Bulma.

_**I'll try, Vegeta. I'll try.**_ She said, still squeezing his hand, trying to keep herself calm. She wasn't sure what verdict she wanted. She knew Vegeta wanted Cold to simply execute him and she understood his reasons, he would be better off dead than in Gero's lab, but the selfish part of her hoped Cold would sentence him to Gero's lab because then it would mean there was still a chance for them to get out of here together.

_**Do not count on that,**_ he said. _**Besides, you are forgetting about yourself. Cold may decide to do us both in.**_

_**Well, if it weren't for the boys, I'd almost prefer that, I think.** _

"Hmm, no, I cannot let you live, you are far too dangerous to be left alive and that mate of yours far too smart," Cold said slowly, scrutinizing them both. "Therefore, I do sentence Prince Vegeta to death on this day."

There was an outcry of cheers and whoops and high-fives going all around the room as Cold announced his verdict. Bulma didn't hear them though as she felt all of the blood drain from her face and she had to remind herself to breathe. Vegeta on the other hand, not surprised at all by the verdict, sat there stone faced without any outward reaction but for stroking Buma's hand with his thumb. He felt both a mixture of relief that he would no longer be used as a science experiment for that deranged doctor but he was disturbed for Bulma and what this would mean for her.

"I still have much to say, so I would appreciate if you would all keep silent until I am finished!" Cold boomed and the room went silent again. "I have not decided as yet the consequences for your actions, woman," he went on, looking at Bulma.

"You have committed some serious offences, my dear, however I am well aware that it would be a complete waste to execute someone who possesses a mind such as yours. You could be a very valuable asset to me, provided I could trust you to work for me and not against me."

Bulma's heart was stuck in her throat and she began shaking almost violently as panic as anxiety took over her at the verdict against Vegeta. She hadn't heard a word of what Cold had said with regards to what he was going to do with her.

_**Just breathe, woman.**_ Vegeta said softly to her, his calm demeanor and light squeezing of her hand jarring her somewhat from her panicked state.

"I can't, Vegeta. I can't." She whispered, trying not hyperventilate.

"Therefore what I propose is you are to work for me, under the direction and supervision of Dr. Gero. He will report back to me daily on your activities and work ethic. Should you decide you will not work for him and display an uncooperative attitude, your sons will die. Should he get any indication that you are plotting against me or himself, your sons will die. If you are caught or even suspected of planning any type escape, your sons will die. And in the event your sons are killed because of your actions, you will be kept alive and continue to contribute to the advancement of my technology. That is your sentence."

Bulma didn't say anything, only nodded numbly in response to the verdict. She was stuck and she was alone. Whether it be one minute from now or in an hour or so, she was truly alone.

"If I may make a suggestion," Gero pipped up suddenly.

"What is it?" Cold asked warily. "Whatever it is, make it quick. This whole ordeal has dragged on long enough and the longer _He_ lives, the further offence and insult I take to him destroying my son!"

"I understand how you would feel that way, my Lord, however it just occurred to me until a moment ago that these two share a bond," Gero said.

"Yes, yes, I already know. So what?"

"Well, from my research, when a bond is formed between two consenting individuals, it permanently bonds them mentally, emotionally and spiritually."

"Yes, Gero, I am aware! What a putrid arrangement! Especially so of such a strong warrior race. I never understood how they could be capable of such a thing, being that they are so barbaric in nature and so adverse to forming personal attachments. Although I could understand somewhat since it is nothing more than a weakness for them to be bound to another so permanently."

"True," Gero agreed. "It is very odd indeed, considering their nature. However, Ms. Briefs and Prince Vegeta share this bond. I have seen it first hand and it runs very deep. So deep that I fear she will shut down and pass should you go ahead and execute Prince Vegeta."

"God damn it!" Cold bellowed, slamming his fist into the arm of his chair. "The entirety of your race is all but deceased with the exception of _you_ and your half breed offspring and still you find a way to spit in my face and defy me! Gero! Is the girl that important to you?"

"She is, yes. She will prove herself to be a very valuable asset, not to mention I have every expectation that she could one day surpass even me with her intellect."

"And you are certain that she and Vegeta share this bond so deep that she would perish without him?"

"Without a doubt, my lord. I witnessed it first hand on Lord Frieza's ship. I tried to sever it but could not. To do so would have compromised her brilliant mind. I did, however sever a great deal of it but it was undone and I would expect it would be even stronger after coming back from something as devastating as what I had done. I had been sure that there would be no way for either of them to come back from that, yet they did."

"So what you are telling me is I have no choice but to let Vegeta live?" Cold asked in disgust.

"If you would so allow it, yes. I ask that you spare his life not only to spare Ms. Briefs for our own interests, but because you also promised me their half breed son to study and you have retained not only one but _both_ of their offspring for your own purposes. Let me take Prince Vegeta on as a subject for my research. I have already learned so much about him. If you would consider this, please?"

_**No, no, no, no, no...**_ "No!" Bulma cried.

"And why not, my dear?" Cold asked.

"Because what would Gero gain from studying a dead race? Absolutely nothing!" She said angrily, standing up to confront both of them. Sure she had been devastated that Vegeta would be killed but this would be far worse and she could not allow it.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Cold snorted. "Then you would perish with your mate."

"I suppose, in a way, yes." She nodded. "However I am not Saiyan. Yes, Vegeta and I are bonded and yes it will affect me in a very negative way should he die but I _may_ live. Who knows? I may not either. I would rather stay alive and know how my boys are doing."

"Hmmm," Cold grunted. "I am confused. You defended your mate so valiantly yet now you want me to kill him?"

"If it's between him dying and him being a science experiment for the rest of his life, I would rather see him dead and I know that's what he would prefer as well. You win!" She said almost frantically. "You got the one responsible for your son's death. You tried him, found him guilty, destroyed his home and you have two, no _three_ of his most prized possessions. The last thing you need for your victory is his life. What more do you want? You've won!"

"True, I have won, however when you put it that way, I think I would take more satisfaction out of seeing him suffer for years down the line for what he did to my son rather than simply giving him the easy way out." Cold said, glaring at Vegeta.

"Your son didn't suffer!" Bulma replied boldly, somehow managing to keep herself together despite feeling absolutely crushed inside. "He did for a few minutes before the end as you can obviously see for yourself in that surveillance tape but Vegeta was merciful by simply killing him. He didn't detain him or torture him for days, hours, weeks or months. He could have, but he didn't. He won the fight and finished it instead of dragging it out. If you have any class, you would do the same!"

"I do not care about how merciful Prince Vegeta _supposedly_ was!" Cold snapped at her. "All I care is that he pays and suffers for his actions!"

"Alright, I get that so simply killing him will make you both even then. As it is already, you've gone a step further in your plan of revenge and are ahead. So why not be done with it and wash your hands completely of him?"

Cold laughed at her. "I find you to be quite the manipulative little thing but I also find you amusing. You will have to watch her closely, Gero. My dear, any outcome which brings Vegeta more misery and suffering is all I care about. If his living his life with Gero makes that happen, then I am content with that."

"I thought his mere existence insulted you at this point." She shot back.

"It does, however killing him would end his suffering and so I have decided to side with Gero on this and let him live. What Gero does with him is of no concern to me. So long as he does not escape."

"He won't, my lord. I have taken great pains to ensure it." Gero nodded.

"Be sure that _neither_ of them escape." Cold emphasized.

"I'll kill him myself then!" Bulma stated.

"And if you do such a thing, I will have your boys killed and I will make you watch." Cold countered.

"You need them."

"Not so badly that I would care all that much if I did kill them. It would also be a waste, but I would manage." Cold shrugged in differently.

"Then let my family go!" Vegeta snarled between grit teeth, standing up as well. "You have me to do with as you wish. Send them away and you can execute me or send me to Gero, whichever pleases you. You do not need them."

"Vegeta, no!" Bulma hissed at him.

"Shut up." He whispered harshly at her. _**You have said quite enough! If I can get you and the boys out of here, I can at least die in peace.**_

_**I'm not leaving here without you!** _

Vegeta turned to face her, looking more alive and animated since she'd seen him look since she had arrived here. However never had he looked at her with such contempt and it hurt _ **. If on the slim chance he allows this, you will leave. You will go back to your parents with the two boys and live your life. You are not to return here nor will you fill the boys heads with foolish ideas of revenge or of getting me out of here should I live that long.**_

_**I can't-** _

_**Look at where your not listening to me has gotten you and our son!**_ He said almost cruelly. _**Now learn your place and listen to me for once! If he gives in to my request you are to leave! That is not a request, it is an order, woman! Do not make me regret indulging you all this time more than I already do!**_

Bulma swallowed down the painful lump in her throat at his harsh words. _**Alright. I don't agree but-**_

_**I don't give a shit at this point!** _

_**Fine! I'll leave you here to be cut up and dissected and whatever if that's what you want!**_ She shouted mentally at him, though the thought broke her heart and nearly made her physically ill.

_**If it gets you and Trunks out of here, then yes.**_ He replied in a somewhat less harsh tone.

"Are you two finished deliberating?" Cold asked in amusement.

They both directed their attention back to Cold.

"Fascinating." Cold murmured.

"It is, isn't it?" Gero agreed. "I have not yet figured out how it is possible, but I intend to find out. It fascinates me to no end!"

"This ability will not pose to be a problem, will it, Gero?" Cold asked skeptically.

"I do not see why not." Gero shrugged. "They can plot all they want but it will make no difference. Unless they learn the access codes to exit my lab, there is no way out; not to mention I am the only one who knows them and I will not be revealing those. You worry too much." He boasted.

_**We'll see how smug he is when I hack his codes in a month or less.**_ Bulma thought snidely to herself. _**See? We need to stick together. I can get us out of here if I just bide my time. You just need to hang in there.**_

"That settles it," Cold sighed. "Vegeta, you are sentenced to life in Dr. Gero's lab until he tires of you-"

There were boos and groans of disappointment heard throughout the room.

"Enough!" Cold growled and the room fell silent again. "Miss Bulma as already determined, you will assist Dr. Gero in anything he needs whether it pertains to your mate or not. I do not care, and should I hear of you not cooperating or that you are plotting to end Vegeta's life, I am sure I do not need to remind you that I will have your boys killed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," she answered so quietly it was barely heard.

"Cheer up, my dear!" Cold said happily. "You worked so hard to defend your mate, I commend you on your efforts. In a manner of speaking, you did. You are both together now. You should be happy. You did well. If I ever need someone to argue on my behalf, I will call on you."

Bulma nodded but didn't say anything. She had failed Vegeta as far as she was concerned. She had failed him in this trial and she had failed him by letting herself get caught up in this mess.

_**There was no positive outcome to this, woman.**_ Vegeta said to her.

_**I guess not,**_ she agreed dejectedly. _**It always was a case between the worst case scenario and the worst case scenario wasn't it?**_

_**Well what were you expecting?**_ He asked, no anger was in his tone. _**That Cold would have simply let this all go and allow us to waltz out of here with the boys because you brought up some very valid points? Surely you aren't that naïve.**_

_**I was hoping, I guess.**_ She replied, feeling stupid. _**What was the point then?**_

_**To simply prolong my demise and thanks to Gero and yourself, it looks like my demise is going to be a long way off.** _

_**I'm sorry, I was only trying to help,**_ she said _ **. I know this is going to be horrible, that Gero is going to do everything he can now that he has free reign to do whatever he wants to you, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise.**_

_**How do you figure that?**_ He asked bitterly.

_**Maybe I can get us out of here,**_ she said. _**It may take a while so I can do it without getting caught but I can at least try.**_

_**Do not do anything to compromise Trunks.**_ Was all he said, clearly not as optimistic as she was about the whole thing.

The Android walked up to them, grabbing Vegeta's arm and hauling him up roughly. "He can get up and walk on his own!" Bulma said to It.

It just looked blankly at her and began to escort them out of the crowded throne room where they were bombarded with a mixture of insults aimed at Vegeta or leering cat calls directed at her. She ignored them completely, not making eye contact or even looking at any of them. Jeyice especially, she noticed in her peripheral vision, was pushing through the crowd following them.

Bulma linked an arm through Vegeta's and locked herself as close to him as physically possible.

They slowly but surely made their way out and down the halls and back to Gero's lab.

Vegeta was escorted back into his small exam room and Bulma was taken to a room in the back of the lab where Gero made her an id card that would give her very limited access to which parts of the lab she was allowed to go to and keep her out from where she wasn't allowed to be.

"A room of your own will be ready by tomorrow. For the time being you will stay with the Namek until I require your assistance," Gero said, opening the other room so she could go in. "As for me, I have lots of work to catch up on. Two days almost worth."

"Wait!" She called out as he was about to shut the door but he ignored her. She pounded her fist on the door trying to get him to come back but of course he didn't. If he was going to start experimenting on Vegeta, she wanted to be there with him.

"What's going on?" Dende asked.

"Vegeta's completely at Dr. Gero's mercy now. Cold gave him to him," she answered. "So your skills may be utilized more now."

"I am sorry," Dende nodded. "I have no choice in the matter. If he wants me to heal him then I have to."

"No, that's alright," she said quietly, sitting down. "Just do what you can for him, heal him as much as you can. Gero doesn't know this but each time Vegeta is nearly fatally wounded and comes back from it, it makes him stronger. It's not going to be nice and while I'm going to hate to have to stand by as Gero does his experiments, it may be our only hope. We need to just bide our time here for a bit, but I will figure out a way out of here and you can come with us." She whispered to him.

Dende nodded. "I will do that if you can get me out of here as well."

"Alright," she sighed. "It may take a while, but we can do this. Trust me."


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26** _

The two space pods crashed landed in a large, field on the planet Callisto. A moment later, Asia and Raditz emerged.

Raditz stretched as he stood up to his full height and looked around. His shoulder was still stiff, but altogether not as bad as he'd thought it would be. Four months in stasis and no movement had been enough for it to heal on its own.

It was about mid-day he estimated as he looked around. "You alright?" he asked as he noticed Asia stretching as well. "It took a bit longer to get here than what Vegeta had said."

"I'm fine," she nodded, also looking around. "So this is it?"

"I guess so," he replied, grabbing his scouter and putting it on. "There's like nothing here, everyone is weak."

"Great," she sighed. "So how are we going to find them?"

"Don't know," Raditz answered, pressing buttons on his scouter, sifting through the readings. "There's a strong power over in that direction. Maybe it's the Namek?"

"Could be," Asia shrugged. "Want to go check it out? If he knows Bulma, maybe he can tell us where she is and it would save us a whole lot of time instead of flying around aimlessly here until we find her. That could take all day."

"Let's go," Raditz agreed, levitating into the air.

"What about the pods?"

"Leave 'em," he shrugged. "We can come back for them later."

Asia followed him and they flew quickly towards the strongest energy level on the planet in hopes that it was the Namek they had been told about. As they flew, Asia couldn't help but feel remorse that she and Raditz were the only ones to have made it off Isotope and hoped that Vegeta and Kakarott had made it off as well. She supposed that she would know as soon as they found Bulma and at least she could get an update that way.

Relief flooded through her that she'd had the foresight to entrust Bulma with her son. They should have made it here by now and hopefully were settled in. She wasn't sure what she would do now; if she would stay here or go back to Vegeta-sei. She shuddered at the thought of going back to the King. That was something she knew she did not want to go back to.

Well, Vegeta, Bulma and Kakarott had resided here for a year or more, maybe it wasn't that bad and she could make a life here for herself with her son and Raditz if he was still interested. Either way, whether he was or not, she would not be going back to her father and King Vegeta. That much she was certain about.

Raditz slowed down somewhat as the power level they were heading towards seemed to be drawing closer to them a lot quicker than he thought it should be. He continued on nonetheless at the rapid pace he'd set.

Within a few short minutes, they were met mid-air by their large power lever; a Namek to their surprise.

"What business have you here, Saiyans?" he asked suspiciously.

Raditz lowered himself to the ground and the Namek and Asia followed. "We were sent here by Prince Vegeta and are to meet his mate, Bulma here," he answered. "We mean no harm."

Piccolo eye them cautiously, as if trying to decide whether or not they were a threat. "You came here in search of Bulma?" he asked. "Vegeta sent you?"

"Yes," Raditz nodded. "She would have brought back her son and possibly Kakarott's mate with their son and another child she was caring for in his mother's absence."

"My son," Asia clarified.

The Namek frowned in confusion looking at them both. He wasn't sure, but he sensed they did not pose a threat and that they both truly believed Bulma was in fact here. Did they not know that their own planet had been destroyed?

"Are they here?" Raditz asked, the Namek's drawn out silence beginning to set him on edge. "Look, we mean her no harm. Kakarott is my brother, I know his mate personally. Ask them. Bulma will even tell you. Vegeta would have told her through the bond that we were coming here. Ask her if you don't believe me. We will gladly remain here while you consult with her if that is what you want to do."

"I would do that, however she is not here," Piccolo finally said.

"What?" Both Asia and Raditz exclaimed.

"I have not seen Bulma, Vegeta, Kakarott or Chi-Chi and their children since their departure for Vegeta-sei months ago," he clarified. "Where are you coming from? You must have heard the news of your own planet."

"We are the only remaining survivors of the soldiers Prince Vegeta brought with him to Isotope to defeat King Cold," Raditz told him. "Everyone else was killed and so Prince Vegeta sent us away to come here and meet up with Bulma. Kakarott remained behind with him and that was the last we heard."

Piccolo shook his head. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Prince Vegeta has fallen to King Cold. So far as I know, he was tried and executed already. Not only that, but King Cold destroyed Vegeta-sei a couple of months ago."

"What!" Raditz shouted. "When?"

Piccolo shrugged. "Three, maybe four months back?"

"It took us four months to get here," Asia whispered as her stomach dropped in dread. "Oh god, was it destroyed before Bulma had a chance to leave?"

Raditz shook his head, completely unable to form a response or wrap his mind around this information, sinking to the ground in shock. "You're sure about this?"

"It was all over the news," Piccolo replied. "How could you have not heard about it? It is all anyone has talked about."

"We escaped in single escape pods and went into sleep mode for the duration of our trip," Raditz told him in a daze as he took in this information that not only was his home destroyed, but worried about Asia would take the news that Bulma was not her with her son as expected. "We were only awakened ten minutes before our landing."

"I see," Piccolo commented. "Well, I am not sure what to tell you and I regret to be the one to have told you all of this. If it is any consolation, Bulma's parents reside here. You may speak with them, perhaps they have heard from her."

"Bulma's parents?" Asia asked.

"Yes, after the death of Lord Frieza, they returned here with both of them. When they left to return to Vegeta-sei, they both decided that they would rather remain here and help advance our technology. Her father is a technological genius and has been a great help to us. I am forever in their debt."

Raditz looked at Asia, deferring to her.

"Sure," she shrugged. "Couldn't hurt, could it? Maybe they have heard from her and we can go to her and we can figure out for the time being what to do?"

"Alright," Raditz nodded, still in shock that Vegeta-sei had been destroyed. That meant his parents were gone as well, what was he going to do?

"You both may reside here until you decide for yourselves what you want to do, however this is a peaceful planet. If you are found to be causing any trouble for any of our inhabitants, you will be made to leave."

They both understood and nodded.

Piccolo nodded once and the threesome took off into the air.

It didn't take them all that long to make it to a small village; they landed in front of a small house and Piccolo knocked on the door.

Within a moment, a beautiful middle-aged blonde woman came to the door. "Oh, Mr. Piccolo! What a surprise! Come in!" She greeted cheerfully.

Raditz and Asia both looked at each other in confusion, was this Bulma's mother?

"I am afraid I cannot stay long," Piccolo replied, turning down her offer. "I am leaving two visitors here who know Bulma and Vegeta. He is apparently Kakarott's brother."

"Oh, how nice!" she exclaimed. "Come right in! Maybe you have some news for us! We haven't heard from any of them since they left, what with the destruction of Vegeta-sei Trunks and I have been absolutely beside ourselves!"

Raditz and Asia looked at each other again awkwardly. "Well, actually, the reason we came to see you is we were hoping-" Raditz started.

"Trunks! You have to come down here!" She hollered, ushering both Raditz and Asia into the house. Piccolo strategically maneuvered himself in such a way that he could leave. The blonde haired woman always made him uncomfortable.

"I will be leaving now," he announced. "If there is anything else I can do to help, you are welcome to find me."

"Thanks," Raditz nodded once, almost afraid to be left here stranded with the bubbly blonde woman.

"Now have a seat, you two." Mrs. Briefs insisted. "I just finished making lunch and a rather large amount of pastries that I was going to give out to some of the villagers, but since we have guests to entertain, you all can sample them instead! Trunks, hurry! There are friends of Bulma and Vegeta's here to visit!"

Asia looked at Raditz and shot him an odd look. This woman didn't even know them and was insisting they sit and dine with her.

"Don't be shy!" she insisted, pulling out a chair for each of them. "My goodness aren't you a strikingly handsome young man! Are all of the members of your culture so handsome? I swear to you if I wasn't a happily married woman, well, I suppose it doesn't matter because I am but you understand, I am sure."

"Uhhh," Raditz stood there with his mouth agape for a moment before kicking himself mentally and taking the seat she was offering to him. "Thank you, I, I can see where Bulma gets her looks from." He said in recovery.

"Oh, thank you, you are so kind," she giggled. "Unfortunately, Bulma didn't inherit any of my culinary skills. Are you two hungry? Eat as much as you want, I made far too much food. And you, my lovely dear, what is your name? Have a seat, don't be shy, I don't bite, I promise!" She addressed Asia.

"My name is Asia," she replied, sitting across from Raditz and wondering for a moment if she was actually awake or still dreaming in the space pod. This whole scenario was just too weird.

"What a pretty name! It suites you, dear." Mrs. Briefs gushed as she began placing several dishes full of food on the table. "Now dig in, I just need to go and get my husband."

They both looked at her as she scuttled out of the kitchen in an almost whirlwind fashion and the small kitchen was silent.

"What the hell?" Asia hissed. "This is too weird!"

"Yea, just a bit," Raditz agreed eyeing the assortment of food on the table. "But I'm hungry, so whatever."

A few minutes later Mrs. Briefs emerged with Dr. Briefs. "Oh good! I'm so glad you didn't wait! You both must be famished from your journey. This is my husband and Bulma's father, Trunks Briefs."

"Pleased to meet you," Mr. Briefs said, sitting down.

"They named their son after you?" Asia asked. She had wondered where they had come up with that strange name.

"They did," the older gentleman nodded.

"I'm Raditz," Raditz introduced himself. "I'm actually Kakarott's older brother and this is Asia; she's the que-"

"I am pleased to meet you both." She cut in, not wanting her title to be made known just in case there way some off chance that King Vegeta or her father had survived the destruction of Vegeta-sei. She was still somewhat in shock that it was gone, but a part of her was alright with that. It meant that she could now be whoever she wanted to be for the first time in her life. To grieve the loss of her home would be to grieve the loss of her father and mate and everything she had hated about her life, with the exception of her son. However, she still held on to some hope that maybe he still lived? There were a number of reasons why Bulma may not have made it here yet; maybe they'd had mechanical failure with the ship and were stranded on another planet awaiting repairs? Maybe they changed their course and took a longer than necessary route to make sure they weren't being followed?

Asia knew how seriously Vegeta took Bulma's safety, so if she knew that, Bulma had to know that and so maybe she was just being extra cautious? She hoped that was the explanation for her not being here before them.

"So the two of you know Bulma and Vegeta and Kakrott, obviously?" Dr. Briefs asked.

"Yes," Raditz replied.

"Do you know how they are all doing?" he asked. "We haven't heard from them since they left here to go back to Vegeta's home planet. We simply assumed for the longest time that no news was good news, especially with Bulma, she's not always good at remembering to keep in touch but she's always fine. We weren't concerned until we had heard that Vegeta-sei had been destroyed. Do you know anything of their whereabouts? Are they on their way here?"

Asia and Raditz exchanged a concerned glance between them. "We were kind of hoping you would have some answers for us, actually," she answered cautiously, reaching for a second helping of some kind of meat and cheese with noodles dish that was absolutely superb.

Between the two of them, they filled Dr. and Mrs. Briefs in on everything since Vegeta and Bulma had arrived back to Vegeta-sei. Asia told them about how she had given Tarble over to Bulma to care for and Raditz told them about the war on Cold's planet and how they were the only survivors as far as they knew, unless Vegeta and Kakarott had managed to survive and Piccolo had been ill-informed about Vegeta having been executed.

"Maybe Vegeta and Kakarott got out and are on their way here?" Mrs. Briefs suggested. "And that boy loves our Bulma so much that I'm sure he sent her someplace safe and instructed her to lay low there until he was able to come for her."

Dr. Briefs gave his wife a fleeting look at her optimism. "He specifically told you that he advised her to return here?"

"Yes," Raditz nodded. "He said that he instructed her to return here to you both. So when he ordered us to leave, he advised us to return here so Asia would be reunited with her son."

"I wish I had some insight to give you two, I cannot imagine what you must be going through," Dr. Briefs said, pouring himself a cup of black coffee. "However, you are more than welcome to remain here and wait for them both if you think that there is the possibility that Bulma was perhaps delayed for whatever reason. If Vegeta told her to leave, I do not know why she would have stuck around. She knew how seriously that boy took her and Trunks' safety; she would have followed his instructions; that much I am certain of."

Asia and Raditz both refrained from chuckling to themselves, it was the second time one of Bulma's parents had referred to Vegeta as _that boy_ and it was clearly in an affectionate tone rather than as an insult.

"You would let us stay here?" Raditz asked dumbfounded. "You don't even know us."

"You are Kakarott's family and he is considered family to us and you are friends with Vegeta and my daughter, therefore that makes you family as well if you so wish." Dr. Briefs said.

"Not to mention that your home has been destroyed," Mrs. Breifs added. "We've been there, we understand how devastating that is! Please at least consider staying here until you decide where you would like to go. It has been awfully quiet here since everyone left."

Asia looked down at her plate guiltily. How could she accept hospitality from these people after everything she had put their daughter through? If they only knew, they'd have her thrown out. Not to mention what kind of people just blindly invited people they just met to stay with them based on the fact that they _knew_ their daughter? It wasn't normal. She looked up at Raditz who shrugged indifferently.

"We could stay for a bit, I guess and wait to see if they're coming," he suggested, picking up on Asia's hesitation. "We don't want to impose though."

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Briefs weaved her hand dismissively. "The upstairs bedrooms are free. Are you two a couple? There is one large bedroom and a second smaller bedroom up there and then Trunks' office is up there."

The two looked at each other and blushed. That was still very much undecided. "We, um, we are still figuring that out."

"Well whatever it is, there are accommodations upstairs for the both of you," Mrs. Briefs waved her hand as though it was all so easily solved. "You two finish your lunch and I will prepare both rooms and then you can both decide on the sleeping arrangements."

The older woman got up and left promptly, not giving either of them a chance to decline or accept.

"Don't mind her," Dr. Briefs said once she was gone, picking up on the fact that they both were extremely uncomfortable with this scenario. "She means well and is the most hospitable person I have ever met. Do not feel you are imposing. In truth, this is a good thing. She has been quite lonely since Bulma and Vegeta left. If you decide to remain here, it will be good for her."

Asia and Raditz nodded. This whole situation was somewhat surreal.

"What's your son's name?" Dr. Briefs asked them.

"Oh, he's my son actually. His name is Tarble." Asia answered awkwardly. "Raditz isn't his father. I guess if Vegeta-sei is gone then his father is deceased now."

"I'm very sorry," Dr. Briefs said awkwardly. "I can't even imagine. Well, I can, but still. That's very sad."

"Its fine," Asia replied quickly. "We weren't on the best terms when I left to fight. I just hope Bulma got off Vegeta-sei with Tarble before it was destroyed. That's all that matters now."

"Yes," Dr. Briefs agreed. "Let's hope that she did."

The three of them finished the rest of their meal in silence before Mrs. Breifs returned, announcing that everything was ready for their new guests.

After they were finished, they went to check out their new accommodations, which were more than adequate. They both agreed for the time being to remain in separate rooms.

After deciding on who would stay where, Asia yanked Raditz into her chosen room and closed the door. "What are we going to do?" She whispered in panic. "We can't stay here!"

"Why not?" He asked. "Where else can we go? It's not like we can go home!"

"I wouldn't go back there anyway!" She snapped. "Unless I knew that Tarble was there beyond the shadow of a doubt. I would _never_ go back there."

"Then what's wrong with here?"

"What's wrong?" She repeated, looking at him like he was an idiot. "What's wrong, is that I can't stay with Bulma's parents. That's one thing that's wrong here, very wrong."

"Awe shit, seriously? You still hate on the girl that much?" He asked in frustration. "I thought you were past all that; you let her care your son for fuck sakes!"

"No, this has nothing to do with anything between me and her, you moron!" She snapped at him. "If you recall, I'm the one responsible for ratting her and Vegeta out way back when and then Frieza destroyed the ship she and Kakarott were in."

"That was you who told on them?"

"Yea," she sighed. "What? Don't look at me like that!"

"You nearly got my brother killed," he said to her accusingly. "We all thought he was dead, Asia. Not only that but you consoled me in my time of grief."

"I didn't know Lord Frieza would blow up the ship!" She said defensively. "They were looking for her and I saw her and told them where she was. That's all. It's not my fault Kakarott got caught up in it as collateral damage."

"But you never told me,"

"I never told _anyone_ but for the few people in the throne room and that was only because they happened to be present at the time," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a hurt tone.

"What was the point?" She huffed. "I felt bad enough about it. I like Kakarott. Honestly, the only thing I was thinking at the time was-"

"Getting Vegeta," he spat. "Yea, I know all about that and your one track mind; don't remind me. I only sat on the sidelines as a spectator for how many years while you chased after him."

"I'm sorry!" She said. "Can't you understand why I can't stay here and accept their hospitality?"

Raditz nodded.

"They are nice people, I can see that but I just don't feel right about it," she said. "Even you have to admit that you can see how upset they are that Bulma isn't here and she and Trunks may have been killed if they were still on Vegeta-sei. They're upset about Vegeta having been captured and executed. How can I stay here with them when all I can think about is my own son and how I plotted vindictively against their daughter?"

"I understand that, I do, but where else do we go?" He asked. "Maybe Bulma is on her way here still. There could be a bunch of reasons why she's not here yet. She's smart. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation; there has to be. Not to mention running into and having her parents embrace you like a long lost comrade is almost like karma biting you in the ass."

She punched him in the shoulder as he chuckled at the irony of her situation. "So what are you suggesting we do then?"

"I say let's wait it out here and see if they turn up." He shrugged. It wasn't great, but it was the only plan he did have. "I can't believe Vegeta-sei is gone."

"I know," she nodded. "I'm not sorry though."

Raditz looked at her in shock. Sure she had been trapped in an unhappy union with the King, but that was still her home.

"Don't look at me like that and don't judge me." She snarled.

"I wasn't,"

"Yes, you were," she accused. "You have no idea what it was like for me being stuck with him and being nothing more than a pawn to advance my father's political agenda's. I'm sorry you've lost your family and our home but I'm not sorry and I will not grieve Vegeta-sei's destruction. I will, however grieve for my son."

"You don't know that he's gone, Asia." Radits said comfortingly. "We already discussed it; there could be a hundred reasons why they aren't here and another hundred places they could be. If I had any idea of where, I'd say let's go find them; but we have no way of knowing. Don't give up on that just yet. I'm sure Bulma is on her way with them, she has to be."

"I hope so," she sighed, trying to convince herself that maybe Raditz was right. However her instincts were telling her otherwise and she sat down on the bed as the full weight of the last few hours began to sink in. "What am I going to do if she didn't make out with him?"

Not knowing how to respond, Raditz simply sat down next to her but didn't say anything; what could he say?

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said again, covering her mouth as she tried to keep herself from getting emotional in front of him. "I have a bad feeling they didn't make it out, I just do, Raditz. She, she should have been here by now. Why isn't she here?"

"I don't know," he said gently. "Maybe, she-"

"Maybe she didn't make it off Vegeta-sei at all."

"And maybe she _did_ ," he insisted. "Don't give up yet. There has to be another explanation. We will wait here until they show up; both of us."

They eventually settled into some sort of routine on planet Callisto with the Briefs, hoping every day that either Bulma would show up with Chi-Chi and the boys or they would at least hear something of their whereabouts.

-0-0-0-

In the four months since the trial, Bulma worked nonstop in the lab for Gero on little projects here and there while he inflicted whatever horrific experiment on Vegeta that he could think of; currently he had her mass producing capsules, much to her resentment. It was both a blessing and curse that she was not allowed in the main medical lab while Gero was conducting his research on Vegeta.

While she wished she could be there for Vegeta in terms of moral support, she also was relieved because she almost didn't want to know what Gero was doing to him. Especially since as of late the brutality of experiments were becoming increasingly worse and she was beginning to wonder how much longer Vegeta would last.

Just a few weeks ago, Gero had decided to open Vegeta up to determine how his body was able to heal itself and he wanted to investigate the difference in anatomy. Mid way through his exploration, Vegeta's body had shut down completely due to malnutrition and the fact that he could not regenerate and heal himself because of the ki collar's effects. Gero had been able to get Dende to repair and help out until he was able to move him into the regeneration tank and bring him back.

Vegeta had been in the tank for a whole week, but she had felt for several minutes what it would feel like to lose him permanently. It was horrible and painful but she told herself it was nothing by comparison to how Vegeta must feel going through the things Gero had been putting him through. All in the name of _science._

It disgusted her.

Since then, she did her best to sneak him any extra rations of food she could get her hands on; he was so weak physically by this point that they didn't even bother keeping his hands bound anymore. It broke her heart to look at him, he was so gaunt-looking and his pallor was no longer that healthy olive tone that had made him look so exotic. He now looked more like a hospital patient in the ward for the terminally ill.

Bulma was surprised his muscle mass hadn't quite started depleting yet; a good sign if there was anything positive about their situation. So far it was all in his face and neck that that looked the worst but she knew that was only his outward appearance; internally, his body had to be reeling from the lack of nourishment alone.

She hadn't had the chance to even consider finding a way to break out of the lab. For one she was monitored at all times by an android except for when she was sleeping, using the bathroom and eating. That was how she was able to get Vegeta extra nourishment; she would eat about half of her meal and capsulize the rest. Since Dende seemed to have more lab access and Gero's trust, she would sneak him the capsule and he would find a way to give it to Vegeta being that he seemed to have unlimited access to Vegeta's room as well.

It wasn't great, but it was the best she could do and the only way she could help him at the moment.

Reality had finally sunk into her about two weeks ago when she had talked Dende into giving her his access card to the lab in an effort to do some late at night poking around and investigating. Instead of doing that, however, the temptation to go to Vegeta had been too much for her to resist. She brought him a blanket and had gone into his room in an effort to offer him some warmth and comfort.

It had been her plan to only stay for a few minutes, but she could not bring herself to leave him; he was freezing cold and broken on the floor from whatever it was Gero had done that day to him so she had wrapped him up in a blanket and held him close until they'd both fallen asleep, clinging to each other only to have been discovered by the Android the next morning.

Bulma insisted that she had stolen Dende's lab access card without his knowledge, for fear of the Namek child being punished for her actions and was ready to claim full responsibility for it, however that resulted in Vegeta taking the fall for her actions and he had received a fair beating from the Android that resulted in his going back into the regeneration tank for a few days and Gero thoroughly pissed off at her because he had to delay in his studies until Vegeta was well enough to get out.

Today, she was working on more capsules for Gero and was out of one of the elements she needed. She knew they were in the main lab where Vegeta was, but she did not want to go in there. Seeing him was just too hard.

However, Gero had been called away to a meeting with Cold and Dende told her that if she wanted to see him, now was a good time as the Android was gone as well. He would take the opportunity to see if he could find anything to aid them in their escape plan because if he was caught looking around, no one would question it since he had full access to everything.

She reluctantly agreed with him and quietly walked into the exam room where Vegeta was tethered to the wall instead of being put away in his room.

As soon as she saw him, she lost her bearing and resolve and decided to only get the supplies she needed and go back to her work station. She didn't say a word to him as she walked by, unable to say anything to him. After the last time, she couldn't bare it to get into trouble again. She knew it was destroying him that she was ignoring him but she reminded herself that keeping her distance from him was the safer option so as to not attract attention and have him hurt again over her weakness.

_**Bulma,**_ he said to her finally after several minutes of watching her scuffle clumsily in the lab in search for whatever it was she was looking for.

She turned and looked at him, but avoided direct eye contact with him. She was drained. Mentally, physically and emotionally. She just couldn't cope seeing him like this, enduring all of this.

_**Look at me,**_ he demanded.

She didn't want to. If she did, she would break down and wasn't sure if she would be able to bring herself back up.

_**I can't.** _

_**I need you.**_ He said. It was the truth but he hated himself for having to admit to that.

_**I know,**_ she said, finally looking at him. _**I'm sorry I, I just can't bare it if we're caught together again and I'm sorry I haven't figured out a way out of here yet. I'm working on it but I can't-**_

_**I know,**_ he said, reaching his hand out towards her. _**When you do, just go. Find Trunks and Tarble and the three of you are to go. Leave me here.**_

_**No, Vegeta.**_ She said, relenting and walking up to him, taking his hand and interlocking her fingers with his after looking around to make sure no one was anywhere near by looking. She knew if they were caught like this they would hurt Vegeta again solely based on the fact that Bulma was the one who could choose to stay away from him.

_**Yes, Woman,**_ he insisted. _**If you see a chance, you take it.**_

_**I can't leave you,**_ she said sadly. _**I know it's the smart thing to do, but I can't. I need you.**_

_**No, you do not. You are stronger than you know. I will be fine here.** _

_**Yeah, right, Vegeta,**_ she scoffed. _**I don't want to even think of what they will do to you if I take the boys and make a run for it. As soon as they discover us missing they will take it out on you.**_

_**You do not think I know that already?**_ He replied dryly.

_**I can't bear the thought, Vegeta. Knowing that we are safe and you'd be living in pure hell.** _

_**I already am living in pure hell, Woman,**_ he said. _**Knowing that you and our son are alright somewhere would be worth it to me.**_

_**I know, but I can't. I would not be able to live with myself, Vegeta.** _

_**And if Trunks and Tarble turn into homicidal maniacs, destroying everything and anything without a second thought or remorse as I was brought up to do, you could live with that?**_ He challenged her. _**The last thing I ever wanted was for Trunks to grow up like I did, and I know this is not what Asia would have wanted for her son either. Get out of here, take them and go find her. I told her when she left here to go to Callisto. That is where you would go. I am almost certain that Raditz went with her. He will keep you and Trunks safe as well. You could trust him; I have full confidence in him.**_

_**I know. You're right,**_ she nodded. _**I'll find a way. I have to go.**_ She said, looking at the door. She had thought she'd heard it open and close a moment ago.

When she saw no one there, she quickly stepped back up to him again and threw her arms around his neck. It was a stupid, risky move, but she needed to feel him; even if it was just for a moment.

Bulma crashed her lips against his, much to his surprise. It took him a split second to respond, but he did; kissing her back fiercely with everything he had, trying to impart as much feeling and strength to her as he could.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

"I know," she replied, her voice catching in emotion. Why was it now that he was able to say it so freely to her? "I love you too." She buried her face in his neck, not wanting to leave him just yet.

"Hmm, and look where that got you." He said quietly to her in a dark tone.

"Don't say stupid things."

He smirked at her.

She held onto him a moment longer and kissed him again before abruptly stepping away to leave. "I have to go before someone sees us."

_**I will try and get some more food for you so that you can keep your strength up.** _

_**Do not risk discovery. If you cannot do it then I would rather you didn't.**_ He said, watching her longingly as she left the room.

It ended up being a good thing she had left when she had; within moments the Android returned with Gero.

"Namek!" He barked and Dende raced out of the other room in a hurry.

"Yes, sir?"

"You are required in the barracks immediately," Gero informed him. "There is a ship of soldiers that have just returned from a mission; nearly all of them quite severely injured, some critically so and there are not enough regeneration tanks. You are to work there today."

"Yes, Dr. Gero." He nodded and took his leave.

"I need your help, girl," Gero said impatiently, walking to the door and glaring at her. "Now."

"What am I helping you with?" She asked.

"I am opening him up today."

"Again?" She objected in disgust. "What for?"

"Doesn't matter, I need your help," he snipped at her as he turned away, leaving the door open and began preparing the exam table. "You are a scientist. I would have assumed you would he grateful for the experience. You never studied anything surgical?"

"No," she sighed. "Technology only."

"Well today is going to be a great day for you then," Gero chortled as the Android dragged Vegeta over and plunked him down none too gently on the table and began fastening his wrists out to the side so his arms were splayed. "Excellent! How are you feeling?" He asked Vegeta eagerly, leaning over his prone form.

Vegeta did not reply, he only turned his face away from him and kept on his mask of indifference. He made eye contact with Bulma a moment before looking away from her and mentally checking himself out completely as he usually did.

"I refuse," she said boldly.

"That's too bad because you do not have the option to refuse," Gero reminded her nonchalantly. "I didn't let Cold know about you stealing the Namek's access card and your little rendezvous and night you shared with Vegeta the other week. I'm sure he'd like to hear about it."

Bulma glared at him.

"I thought so," he snipped at her. "You wouldn't want your two boys to be punished for your brief lapse in judgement."

"Why do this today?" she asked, trying to not get emotional. "Dende's not here to help you if the same thing happens and he shuts down again."

Gero shrugged. "That's a chance I am willing to take and I know it won't happen with you here."

"What does my presence have to do with any of this?" she cried. "For someone so smart, you're an idiot! He's worn down to the point of nothing! You've starved him and keep him from recovering because of that stupid collar! How much trauma do you think he can sustain before his body decides it's had enough? You say you want to know how and why he can heal himself. It's because of his ki!"

_**Do not give him any information about anything pertaining to me.**_ He advised her.

_**But maybe I can convince him to take off that thing?** _

_**I do not want him to know anything more than he already does.** _

_**Alright, fair enough but what if this kills you this time?** _

He didn't say anything for a moment but he looked at her and replied: _**Then it does.**_

She nodded; covering her mouth to hide that her lips were trembling. How could she deny him or talk him out of thinking that way?

"You're presence here will ensure that he does not shut down because you are going to monitor him since I don't have Dende here if he crashes." Gero replied, still flipping through many pages of research absent mindedly, not noticing that they were having a silent conversation.

Bulma frowned slightly as an idea began to form in the back of her mind but she dismissed it before it could really come to fruition.

_**Do it.**_ He commanded, having caught it through the bond.

_**I don't know if I can, Vegeta.**_ She replied, feeling guilty for even thinking it.

_**I told you when you arrived here that if this is to be my existence you are to either find a way to end me or give me the means to do so.**_ He reminded her. _**You may have the opportunity here.**_

_**I know that, I thought about it but I don't know if I can go through with it is all!** _

_**You can.** _

_**And what if they assume I did something and kill the boys? You heard what Cold said.** _

_**Doing it the way you thought is the best way because they will not be able to prove it one way or another.** _

"Alright, I'll help you," she sighed trying to pull herself together. "But on one condition,"

"You, my dear, are in no position to be negotiating conditions." Gero chuckled, snapping his binder shut ad giving her his full attention.

"If you put him out by use of a general anesthetic, I will help you." She said.

"He does not need it," Gero waived his hand in dismissal, reaching for his tools.

"But maybe that's why he shut down last time!" she objected. "If he's put out, that's less stress on him and maybe his body will be able to handle the trauma you are about to inflict on it."

"True enough, but anesthetic will slow his system down and I will not be able to properly study him."

"You can't anyway with that stupid thing you have around his neck!" She shouted. "Put him out and I will be able to monitor his vitals accurately and let you know if we are about to lose him before it happens."

Gero looked to consider it a moment but then shook his head. "No. I am not so stupid to trust you enough that you wouldn't poison or overdose him with anesthetic so he never wakes up."

Bulma glared at him, neither confirming nor denying his suspicion that she would do such a thing. _**Sorry, Vegeta, I tried.**_

Gero chucked at the sour look on her face. "Now that we've wasted enough time, shall we get started?"

Bulma sighed in dread in an attempt to settle the knots in her stomach at the thought of aiding the mad scientist in opening up her husband for exploratory surgery. She just hoped she wouldn't be sick.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble walked out of the chamber together, exhausted, but feeling stronger than ever.

"You did good, but I'm still stronger than you." Trunks said to Tarble, shoving him.

"Not for long." Tarble retorted.

"Enough of your simpering and bickering!" Jeyice barked at them. "Get down to the barracks and get yourselves cleaned up. Cold will want to see you and the evidence of the progress you've made."

"Yes, sir." The boys nodded and headed off in the direction of the barracks.

"Little gits," Jeyice grumbled under his breath. "Exactly what does Cold think I am, a bloody babysitter?"

He made his way to Cold's throne room to report to Cold the results of the boy's most recent training. Jeyice hoped he would be satisfied with the results.

"Jeyice," Cold greeted as he walked in. "That was fast."

"Two days," he answered. "Though it felt like the full entire two years to me."

"Indeed," Cold agreed. "How did they do? They are eight years of age now?"

"Yes, sir." Jeyice nodded. "They did well; Trunks especially. The other is still lagging quite far behind. I cannot figure out why."

"How far behind?"

"It's hard to say, my Lord." Jeyice answered. "I suspect that Trunks does not show his full potential for fear that the gap between them will be made more obvious than it already is. I would have to work with them separately to know for sure."

"Are they finally ready to be sent on missions or do they need more training and another two days in the Time Chamber to mature?" Cold asked.

"I am confident Trunks is ready," Jeyice said. "Tarble, no."

"And why not?"

"I don't know, my Lord. I have tried everything I know to train them; I have trained them both the same. Trunks continues to excel and Tarble remains the same. He is average at best, if that." Jeyice reported honestly. "I really do not wish to be sent in there again. Do you realize that I have been aged eight years in four months? You realize what that is doing to my skin? Send someone else to train with them next time. I would rather not continue babysitting."

"Noted," Cold nodded. "Where are they? I wish to see them."

"I sent them to the barracks to clean up before reporting to you."

"Go and get them," Cold demanded. "I wish to see them and assess them."

"Right, sir," Jeyice nodded and turned to leave and get the boys.

-0-0-0-

Freshly showered and clean, the two boys dressed quickly, not wanting to be in trouble for taking too long. They both put on blue flight suits and reached for new armor.

"My armor doesn't fit anymore," Trunks commented, reaching for another set in another size.

"Mine still fits." Tarble said with a shrug.

"That's because you're a runt," Trunks said in a teasing tone, yet his features clouded over in concern. "You need to start working harder, hey? I can't keep holding back on your account. They're eventually going to notice and Jeyice is getting pissed."

"I'm working as hard as I can, Trunks!" he objected in a hurt tone. "I just can't keep up to you. I don't know why. I can barely breathe in that chamber. I don't know how you can do it."

"Because we don't have a choice, Tarble." Trunks said. "I hate it too, but they keep making us go."

"I know," he agreed. "I'm trying though, I really am."

"I know you are," Trunks sighed. "I just, I can't take it when he's mean to you because you aren't progressing as fast as I am and I can't keep holding back or they'll punish us both for not progressing. You know that."

"Then don't." Tarble said bitterly. "You're the favorite."

"Am not,"

"Are too!" Tarble insisted. "Why did I get mom's weak genes and you didn't?"

"Hey, mom's not weak!" Trunks said angrily.

"Do you even remember mom?"

"Yea, of course I do," Trunks nodded. "Can't you?"

"No," he shook his head. "I don't remember dad either."

"I remember dad a little," Trunks admitted. "Not as well as mom though. Don't worry, Jeyice said if we did good this time in the chamber we could go see her, remember?"

"Ya,"

"Then you'll remember her." Trunks said optimistically.

"I still don't get why you remember her and I don't."

"Because you're a big stupidy, that's why." Trunks joked.

"Am not, you are!"

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?" Jeyice shouted at them. "Get your arses going now! Cold is waiting on you two little monkeys!"

"Sorry, sir," the two boys apologized, putting their armor on hurriedly and slinked past them.

"Ow!" Tarble whined as he got a boot in the butt as he scurried past Jeyice.

"Get going!" he shouted at them again.

"Do we get to see mom later?" Trunks asked once he was a fair distance from Jeyice to not get decked or kicked. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling he was at least as fast as their sensei if not faster, though he hadn't tested that theory for fear of making his brother look bad. He had been consciously holding back since they had gotten out of the chamber last time.

They had come out and Cold had given Tarble quite the beating for not being at the same level as Trunks. Trunks had felt so badly about it that any friendly competitive streak he'd had with his brother had vanished and so he deliberately held himself back in his training so that Tarble wouldn't get in trouble. They were both treated bad enough as it was.

"Maybe," Jeyice smirked. "I'll go look in on her while you and your brother are meeting with Cold. He wants to send you both on missions if you are ready."

Trunks lit up at the thought but then remembered that there was no way Tarble would be strong enough to go on anything that was too difficult. "I don't know," he said cautiously, looking at his brother who had a panic stricken look on his face.

"You can stop playing stupid, boy," Jeyice snarled at him. "I know you are a lot stronger than you let on to protect your weakling brother. Don't think I don't know and don't think I didn't report that little bit of information to Cold, because I did."

Trunks swallowed back a weave of fear. "I am _not_. We're the same."

"Right," he snorted. "Well matters little to me. Cold can get rid of you both for all I care. I'm sick of being the one responsible for you useless brats. The only reason Cold puts up with your lot is because your father had an amazing strength and was an outstanding warrior. So you both better buck up and get with the program or Cold will get rid of you both."

"Yes, sir." Both boys replied quietly, both worried about facing Cold. It was never a pleasant time for either of them.

They made it to the throne room and Jeyice opened the doors for them, letting them in.

"Here they are, my Lord," he announced as they walked in.

"Excellent!" Cold exclaimed. "Come over here, you two; let me have a look at you."

The two boys cautiously walked up to Cold, not wanting to get too close but close enough to make him happy. They both wanted to stay out of range of his long tail; it wouldn't be the first time he decided to whip one of them across the head with it suddenly.

"My, Trunks you have grown," he commented appreciatively. "At least two feet since I last saw you a few days ago, impressive. Tarble, I see you must be inheriting your father's laughable height. A pitty I hear you seem to not be inheriting his immense strength. You know he was one of the universes most powerful warriors despite being a pint sized Saiyan?"

"Tarble has grown," Trunks cut in. "And he's stronger too. We both are."

"I hear _you_ have excelled, yet like to _hide_ your progress." Cold said pointedly at him.

"No I don't," Trunks answered, shaking his head.

"I know better than that," Cold chuckled, standing up and walking towards the boys. "You think you are protecting him by hiding your progress?"

"No," Trunks insisted and before he had a chance to react was whipped with a tail lash from Cold that sent him crashing into the ground.

Trunks grit his teeth and stood up, slowly, glaring defiantly at Cold trying to hide how much that had hurt.

"Are you sure?" he asked, advancing at him.

"Yes!" Trunks shouted in reply, blocking a blow from Cold that had he not anticipated it, was sure it would have probably knocked him out cold.

"Not only have I heard that is a lie, but I think you are holding back as well." Cold said, knocking him down again with his tail. "Jeyice,"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"You may leave us." Cold said dismissively to him. "Come back in a half hour or so."

"Right, my Lord." Jeyice nodded, turning and leaving as quickly as he could before he was in trouble from the lizard Lord for the boys' lack of progress.

He did feel the slight pang of guilt for telling Cold about the one covering for the other's inadequacies but at the same time, he'd lived through his fair share of beatings since his arrival and enlistment in the PTO. It was harsh, but this was the way of it. He was hard on the boys as his sensei had been hard on him because that was his job.

Jeyice decided to pay a visit to the lab since he had the time. He had not forgotten about Bulma.

He had propositioned her last month and still had yet to receive an answer from her. She and Vegeta had been here a total of four months and either Jeyice had been stuck training the two brats in the time chamber two days at a time, once a month or he had been sent on missions.

The boys, Trunks in particular, had been pestering him about seeing his mother since the second time they had gone into the chamber. After they had emerged, he had approached her to make a proposition; she could see the boys if she performed a _favor_ for him.

Of course his little proposal had been met with anger and out right disgust from her but it amused him. He had left her to think on it and reconsider. Unfortunately, that had been a month ago and he had been away on a mission for Cold and then sent immediately to train with the two boys. A month was a long time for a mother who had not seen her sons in four months total. Maybe she would be a little more open to the suggestion now?

Jeyice chuckled to himself on his way down the halls towards the science wing where she most likely was. Who knew? Perhaps today would be the day he could _finally_ have her. It was a thought that had plagued him ever since they had taken her off Vegeta-sei.

He walked into the lab to find an absolute blood bath all over the place as Dr. Gero and the Android lifted Vegeta into one of the regeneration tanks. There was blood everywhere, indicating that something may have gone wrong with whatever it was they had been doing.

Jeyice swallowed back the squeamish feeling in his stomach; sure he had seen his share of carnage and death in his time but something about Dr. Gero made him feel ill and a small part of him pitied Vegeta. Sure he hated the arrogant little shit, always had, but to go from being one of the universes most strongest and envied warriors to being reduced to a project to be examined and cut up was something even Jeyice thought Vegeta didn't deserve.

"What are you doing here?" Gero barked. "This is a sterile area. Leave at once!"

"I am here to speak with the woman." Jeyice announced.

"She's not available," he grunted, tossing his bloodied up lab coat into a garbage can. "I am going to require her assistance in cleaning up this mess!"

"Right, however it concerns the boys and I think she would be very much interested in what I have to say."

Gero glared at him. "Very well, I need to shower this filth off of me and decide what to do now. You have ten minutes with her."

"Right," Jeyice replied, wincing as he walked in and tried to step around the bloody mess that was all over the floor.

Gero punched in a code on the wall, unlocking a door. "She's in there,"

Jeyice nodded and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Bulma shouted at him. She was sitting on the floor curled up in a little ball. "I will hit you."

He smirked at her. "I do like my women with a bit of fire,"

"Get out!" She screamed at him, standing up.

"I only came to see if you had given any thought to our little _arrangement_ that I proposed the last time I saw you?" he asked, ignoring her defensive stance and advancing on her. "You know they keep asking for you and I just have to keep telling them that you won't see them. It's quite tragic, really."

"Bullshit!" she spat at him, trying to keep as much space between him and herself. "They're only ten months old! They would have no comprehension at this point to be able to ask you such a thing."

He chuckled at her. "They've matured a whole lot more in three months than you can even imagine."

Bulma glared at him trying to keep her mind clear. Now of all times for him to pay her a visit; she was a complete emotional wreck. The surgical exploration Gero had started had been nothing short of a disaster. Vegeta's heart had given out and they had lost Vegeta again before Gero was able to get him into the regeneration tank. Without Dende to start healing him before they moved him to the tank, she had been sure that had been it.

It had been more than she could take and as she watched Vegeta breath his last breaths she'd shut down as well. Gero had removed her from the scene and locked her in this room as Vegeta had crashed.

It had felt like she was crashing down with him. Part of her had hoped they couldn't bring him back, but of course, he was in a regeneration tank again in record time and within a few minutes it was determined that he was still alive; however he was extremely weak. So weak that she could barely feel him through their bond and her head and heart were almost excruciating. She wondered of he would be able to come back from such a traumatic procedure a second time and again, as horrible as she felt wising death on him, she almost hoped he didn't.

On the plus side, she could not be blamed for his death if he did not pull through and that was the only relief that she had at the moment.

Bulma hated herself for not being able to find a way out yet for them. She was under such strict surveillance from Gero that she could not chance trying anything for fear of him reporting back to Cold and have the boys take the brunt of her misbehavior.

"I, I'd like to see them," she said.

"And see them you shall, but I want something in return." He chuckled, looking at her in a way that made her skin crawl.

"No," she said.

Jeyice closed the gap between them and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there. "You know I could just take you and use you now,"

"Get off me, you pig!"

"But I would rather play nice."

"Well, I don't want to play at all," she seethed.

"Not even to see your boys?" he asked mockingly.

Bulma frowned and thought about it; it was tempting, and to her everlasting guilt and shame she had actually considered it but decided _no_. As much as she wanted to see Trunks and Tarble, she couldn't do that to Vegeta or to herself. "No," she answered.

"Pity," he shrugged, moving away from her and leaving.

"Wait!" she called after him. "Are they alright?"

"Hmmm," he tapped his chin. "They were when I left them with Cold, but he's a little more than pissed with the both of them for their apparent lack of progress so, they may not be so alright when he's through with them."

"They're only babies! And they've only been here four months!" she cried. "How much _progress_ could they possibly make!?"

"I'd tell you more, but you have to do something for me," he said snidely.

"Just get out," she whispered. "And don't come back here."

"Suit yourself, though I think you're making a mistake," he shrugged. "Not only are you missing out on a potentially good time while trapped on this shit hole, you are abandoning your boys; but what's it to me, right? I'll just tell them their mother is here and simply refusing to see them."

Bulma glared at him as he gave her a winning smile and closed the door behind him, leaving her there in her thoughts and misery.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait… Life has been kicking me in the ass as of late. I hate having to adult.
> 
> The other reason this has taken me so long to get this out is I was stuck trying to decide where to take a certain path on this story. I sat on this chapter for weeks. But read my AN at the end of this for more on that.
> 
> And last but not least, a GINORMOUS THANK YOU to fellow writer Dragonbabezee for beta and editing this chapter for me. If it weren't for her, I'd still be chewing my nails trying to decide what to do with this mess I have created in this universe. If you haven't by now, be sure to check out her current story- Never Ever Land. It's a lot of fun, you won't be disappointed!

_**Chapter 27** _

Jeyice made his way back slowly to Cold's throne room; he had been gone long enough he figured. He just hoped that Cold hadn't beaten the boys up too badly, he didn't really feel like tending to their wounds or babysitting right now.

What he really wanted was an endless amount of alcohol to consume and a decent lay to tire him out. He thought of Bulma again. Such a shame she wouldn't cooperate, he scoffed silently to himself. He was certain she would be perfect.

He paused a moment before opening the door and walked into Cold's throne room.

He saw Tarble who looked to have been completely unharmed, kneeling over Trunks who was an unconscious, bleeding, broken mess on the floor.

"You can take that one to a regeneration tank, Jeyice. I think I have made my point." Cold said to him in an almost bored tone. "Stubborn as his father, that one. He'd rather get beaten to a bloody pulp than show me what he was actually capable of."

"They do say the apple does not fall far from the tree, my Lord. I will tend to him, but I must inform you that there are no tanks available," Jeyice reminded him. "None but for one in the science lab of Dr. Gero anyway."

"Then send him there." Cold shrugged.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? Their mother is there."

Cold thought for a moment. "It's fine. She could do with a little bit of motivation to keep her cooperating from what I hear. Seeing them may do that."

"Alright," Jeyice nodded and turned to pick up Trunks. "Come on, you."

Tarble didn't need to be encouraged twice about leaving.

He followed behind Jeyice as they made their way down the halls to an area that he'd never been to before. "My mother is where we are going?" he asked.

"Yes," Jeyice replied. "You can visit with her while your brother is recovering; I will return for you both in a little while. You are not to leave until I return or you will find yourself in much the same condition as your brother here or worse, understand?"

"Yes, sir." he answered quietly.

"I don't fully understand why Cold felt the need to punish _him_ for your shortcomings, nor do I agree with it, but you had better shape up, boy and shape up fast."

"Yes, sir, I will."

"You'd better. All you do is hold him back."

"I'm sorry,"

"Well, don't apologize to me!" Jeyice scoffed at him. "Apologize to your brother. It's your fault he got the beat down today. Cold is getting wary of both your lack of progress so you'd better start getting better before his patience runs thin and he blasts you two worthless wanks. And if that happens, Cold will most likely end me as well since it is my responsibility to train you two up. It reflects poorly on me and I do not appreciate it, not one bit."

"I will try harder, I promise." Tarble said, trying to blink back tears.

"Cut your sniveling!" Jeyice snapped at him. "Do you want me to give you something to cry over?"

"No," he croaked out.

"Save it for your mother then because you'll have no sympathy from me."

Tarble nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He felt bad that Trunks had gotten the brutal beating he had. Trunks had only been trying to protect him. It didn't seem to matter what he did or how hard he worked at it, he just could not keep up with Trunks.

Trunks excelled at his training. He caught on to things quickly and the harder he trained the stronger became. Tarble on the other hand had to work at it and he felt it didn't matter how hard he worked he seemed to have plateaued and the gap between himself and his brother was so vast at this point that he feared he would never be able to catch up to him. It wasn't until they started the second day in the time chamber this month that he'd pretty much given up on even trying to catch up to Trunks, never mind keeping up. Except by doing that all he'd done was get Trunks in trouble.

Jeyice walked into the science lab where Bulma was cleaning up the mess from whatever the deranged doctor had done to Vegeta. She was on her own and looked as though she had been crying.

She stood up when she heard them come in. "I told you to get out of here and not come back!" She snarled angrily to Jeyice, not even noticing who or what he was carrying in his arms. She couldn't see Tarble because he was hiding behind Jeyice.

"Oh, well I guess I'll just take Trunks here and be on my way then. He can wait however long for a regeneration tank in the barracks and by the look of it, it could be a day or two." Jeyice retorted snidely, shaking the limp form of Trunks in his arms.

"What?" she asked, actually looking at what the orange man was carrying and noticed the unmistakable lavender hair. It wasn't possible, but who else had that color of hair? She noticed a young clone of Vegeta standing behind Jeyice as well and concluded that he must be Tarble. "What the hell?" she exclaimed in disbelief from both Trunks' beaten form and the fact that both boys were far older than what they should have been. "What, what happened to Trunks?"

"Got a beating from Cold, and as you know, all the regeneration tanks in the barracks are in use," Jeyice replied. "There, you can see them for a little while now, but that's it."

Bulma raced over to the second tank, getting it ready, her hands shaking as she entered the required stats for it. "Alright, put him in," she said.

Jeyice and Tarble had stripped off his armor and flight suit, leaving him in nothing but his underwear.

"Oh my god," Bulma breathed as she got a better look at him. He had several broken bones and many scars on his body. _Just like your father,_ she thought sadly to herself as she watched Jeyice set his arm and shoulder.

They then put him in the tank, put on a breathing mask and waited for the liquid to fill it.

"I'll leave, but will be back to check on him in an hour. Do not even think about leaving here or trying anything." Jeyice warned, leaving the lab. He was badly in need of a drink and a good meal.

Bulma stood there looking at Trunks, now suspended in the water. How had he grown so much so fast?

"It's my fault," a small voice behind her said.

Bulma, having completely forgotten about Tarble, whirled around to face him. He was nearly the spitting image of Vegeta, only he had bangs and his hair wasn't quite so tall and unruly. She remembered the portrait of the royal family hanging on the wall in the palace halls on Vegeta-sei; Tarble looked exactly like Vegeta had in that picture. It was almost eerie the resemblance. "Oh, Tarble, sweetie; I'm sure that's not true." She said soothingly once she'd caught herself.

"It is," the young boy nodded. "He's been covering for me."

"What do you mean?" she asked, walking up to him.

"He's much stronger than I am. So he hides it so I won't get in trouble, only somehow they figured it out and so he got in trouble for it. Cold said I have to get stronger or he'll hurt Trunks worse next time," he said, his lower lip trembling as he tried to keep himself from crying.

"That's not your fault, sweetie." Bulma said, though knew it sounded hollow. She got down on her knees to look at him at his level. _How could he be this big?_ _How can he be talking this well even?_ She kept asking herself as she looked from him and back to Trunks' floating form in the regeneration just a few feet away. It didn't make sense. "Do you mind telling me how old you are now?"

"We're eight," he shrugged. "But technically we're one, I think? They make us train in a chamber once a month for two days and for every day you are in there it's like a year outside except you can't stay in for more than two days."

"I see," Bulma nodded, taking that in. It didn't make sense, but it was a better explanation than anything that came to her mind other than that she had to be going completely insane.

"You're our mom, right?" he asked her suddenly, almost cautiously, as he studied her closely. Bulma wasn't sure if he was unsure or suspicious of her.

"I am, yes," she nodded.

"Hmm, I thought so," he nodded. "Trunks remembers you and talks about you all the time but for some reason I can't remember you."

"Trunks remembers me?" she asked, trying to keep herself from getting emotional.

"Yea," he replied. "I'm sorry I don't."

"It's okay, sweetie, its ok." She had no idea what to say, so she hugged him. Of course he wouldn't remember her, she wasn't his mother she thought guiltily. He may remember something about Asia though, wouldn't he? "You don't have any other memories of anyone else though? Surely you must remember something?"

"Nope, nothing," he sighed, hugging her back stiffly, uncomfortable with such a gesture. Sensing that, Bulma let him go. "I remember a lady though who used to sing to me, I think. She had really short hair but that's all I remember."

_That was Neesa,_ Bulma thought to herself sadly that he didn't even remember his own mother. "Yea, sometimes there was a girl who would help me look after you and Trunks because it was hard caring for both of you at the same time. She really cared about both of you."

"Oh," he said, looking at her intently. "You're really pretty."

"Thanks," she smiled awkwardly.

Tarble turned away and looked at Trunks for a moment and then walked up to Vegeta's regeneration tank which was right next to Trunks and looked at him. "Is that my dad?" he asked in wonder.

Bulma closed her eyes, swallowed and took a deep breath. _Oh, god I cannot do this today, I just can't,_ she told herself. "Yes," she finally answered.

"He's the prince of our whole entire race, right?" He asked her excitedly and almost in awe, his fingers pressed right into the glass as he tried to get as good a look at Vegeta as possible.

"He is," Bulma nodded. _Or was,_ she silently added to herself.

"Wow," he breathed looking at Vegeta as though he were in a daze. "I wish I can be like him some day."

"I'm sure you will,"

"Why is he in here though if he's so strong?"

"He is strong," Bulma answered, trying to think of something to tell him that was different from what actually happened. "He, umm, he needed an operation and we put him in here to heal quickly like Trunks."

"Oh," he replied, still transfixed by Vegeta's floating form. "They said he has to be in prison for the rest of his life because he was against King Cold and killed his son or something, and that you work here because you're his wife and because you are smart."

"Yea, it's complicated, kiddo," she sighed. She had no idea what to say to him. She had worried herself sick over their wellbeing and while she was relieved that they were somewhat okay, it was clear that they weren't in a great environment. Trunk's wounds said it all and she assumed Tarble was littered with scars as well but she couldn't bring herself to ask him.

"Do you think he will be out soon?" Tarble asked.

"Who, Trunks?"

"No, him," Tarble clarified, still looking at Vegeta. "Trunks won't be long. He's been beat up worse than that."

Bulma took a deep breath and held it for a few moments as she leaned against the work table. Trunks looked to be in terrible condition, like he'd been run over a few times by a mac truck and Tarble shrugged it off as it not being that bad and that he'd sustained worse? _This has to be a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare,_ she kept telling herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. _I'm not here, we aren't here. I'm going to wake up at any moment because Trunks is going to wake up and he will need to be changed and fed. I'm going to wake up in Vegeta's arms and he will make me forget about this horrible nightmare._

"Are you ok?" Tarble asked her.

Bulma opened her eyes and saw the small miniature version of Vegeta looking at her with concern. _You can't have a meltdown now!_ She chastised herself. "Yea, I'm fine."

"You look upset."

"No, no," she insisted, shaking her head. "I'm fine. Just surprised and happy to see you and Trunks. I wasn't expecting you to have grown this much in such a short time. You both were just little babies the last time I saw you and I'm sorry I missed out on it."

"It's okay," Tarble shrugged, turning back to look at Vegeta. "They said you were too busy here."

"Yes, they keep me very busy here," she agreed. "But they don't want me to see you because you need to focus on your training. That's why I haven't been able to see you." she added.

"Well, I know where to find you now," Tarble shrugged easily. "Maybe Trunks and I can come see you if you can't come see us."

"I would love nothing more than that," she nodded, once again fighting to keep herself from sobbing. "But make sure you don't get yourselves into trouble, alright? If you are going to get in trouble for coming here, I'd rather you didn't. I can't bear that."

"You don't want to see us?" he asked her with a hurt frown.

"No, I do, I want to see you every chance I can, but if King Cold and Jeyice say you can't then you can't. I don't want you both to end up hurt like Trunks because you came to see me." She tried to explain.

"Why can't we?"

"Because your father and I are prisoners and aren't allowed any visitors."

"Oh," he sighed. "Well I know Trunks will want to see you. Hopefully he will be out soon so you can see him."

"I hope so," she nodded. "I miss you both very much."

"Is he going to be out soon?" Tarble asked again, looking at Vegeta.

"I don't think so," she sighed, walking up to the regeneration tank to read the stats. It didn't look good; he was in a fairly bad state.

Tarble raised on his tippy toes to read the monitor as well. "He won't be out for a few days then?"

Bulma shook her head. "Probably not, no. How do you know that?"

"That bar," he pointed. "It's on one out of five. Five means you can come out."

She nodded. "He only went in a little while before you guys came, so he hasn't been in for very long."

"That," Tarble said as he pointed to a stat that she couldn't read. "That says his ki level and for some reason it thinks he has no ki so it's low and it will take him a while to get better. How can he have no ki?"

"King Cold had the Doctor take it away from him so he couldn't get out of this place." She answered; she understood some of the status readings on the tanks, but not all of them.

"That sucks," Tarble exclaimed. "I heard he was one of the strongest warriors in the whole universe,"

Bulma nodded. "He sure was."

"Can he get his ki back?"

"I sure hope so, kiddo."

"He has to. Then maybe we can go someplace else," Tarble said, still trying to read the stats on the monitor.

She was about to reply but the timer on Trunks' regeneration tank chirped loudly, indicating that he was ready to come out.

Bulma rushed over and pushed the button to begin draining the tank. Trunks was already awake and looking curiously at her.

"Trunks," she she sighed as she handed him a towel to dry off as soon as he was able to step out of the tank.

He looked at her almost in wonder as he took the towel and quickly dried himself off.

"Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry!" She cried, wrapping her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He tensed up in shock and it took him a moment to hug her back, the action completely foreign to him yet somehow instead of feeling uncomfortable with her invading his personal space, he felt comforted by her close proximity and her scent induced an almost calming effect on him.

"Mom?" He asked. He wasn't sure how he knew it was her, but he did. His memory of her wasn't great, but he knew instinctively that it was her. He remembered her hair and her eyes, her smile and her scent now that she was close to him, it was unmistakable.

"It's me sweetie," she said, still hugging him. "I've missed you so much!"

"You did?" He asked in confusion, pulling away from her.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, getting on her knees so she could look at him at the same level. "We don't have much time before Jeyice comes back to check on you, but know that I think of you both every moment of every day and as soon as I can figure out a way out of here, we will. Just hang in there and know that your father and I love you and haven't forgotten about you; no matter what they tell you."

"Where is father?" Trunks asked. "Is he here?"

"Ya! He's in a tank, Trunks." Tarble said from behind them, standing by Vegeta's tank.

Bulma stood up and moved so Trunks could see.

Trunks walked up to the tank and looked at the man floating peacefully in the light green liquid. He touched the glass and stared at him in awe almost as though willing him to wake up.

It took Bulma great effort to blink back tears and swallow the painful lump of emotion in her throat threatening to come to the surface. She wished so badly that Vegeta would have been awake to see Trunks.

"Isn't he awesome, Trunks?" Tarble asked excitedly. "King Cold was right, he's not very big. Maybe I can still be as strong as him one day."

"If he's so strong, why is he in there?" Trunks asked, not taking his eyes off his father. He barely remembered him, but he knew it was him. Unlike his mother, whom he remembered things like her scent and the sound of her voice and a vague recollection of how she looked, the only thing he remembered of his father was more his features. Dark hair, dark eyes. Though when he tried to actually think about what he looked like, aside from remembering the thick, dark drawn together eyebrows, the rest of his face was usually obscured by a bright aura. He remembered his hands, come to think of it, and he thought that was a strange thing to remember. Out of everything he could possibly remember about the man, why was it his hands he thought of?

"He had an operation earlier so the doctor put him in there to heal," Bulma answered.

"Why?" Trunks asked, still transfixed by his father's floating, dormant form in front of him.

"He's sick," Bulma replied, unsure of what to say.

"They said he is a prisoner," Trunks said. It was a statement, not a question. "That he murdered King Cold's son and that he is a traitor to the empire."

"Oh, boy, sweetie," Bulma sighed, completely unsure of what to say and how to answer that. She was not surprised they were filling the boy's heads with lies about Vegeta and herself and she always assumed that one day she would have to figure out what to say some time, however she never would have thought she would have to do that now. Her son wasn't even a year old and here he was right in front of her as an eight year old! "You know, it's really complicated. I can't give you an easy answer to that except that while it may look that way to some, everything your father did was in his best effort to protect us. You and Tarble and me. He was trying to keep us safe and out of harm's way."

Trunks snorted. "He did a great job."

Bulma clenched her jaw and took a deep breath to keep from crying. "He did. Your father kept us safe. It was me who messed up and got us here, not him."

Trunks looked at her and frowned.

"I'm so sorry, my baby," she whispered. "One day, when we have more time, I will tell you everything; I promise. But for the moment, please understand that both your father and I love you both very, very much. No matter what they tell you."

"Awe, how sweet." Jeyice sneered as he walked in. "I see you're all better and ready to get back at it?"

"Yes, sir." Trunks nodded, standing straight and catching the new, clean flight suit Jeyice tossed at him.

"Good," Jeyice grunted. "Now hurry up! We've wasted enough time today."

"Thank you," Bulma said quietly to him.

"Do not thank me just yet, kitten. I only brought them here because there are no tanks available and we have work to do so this was the quicker option," he snorted. "I will return and expect payment at my earliest convenience."

Bulma glared at him and she felt her stomach drop unpleasantly at the suggestive way he looked at her.

"What is it, love?" he asked mockingly. "I would have thought that there would be no price too high for a chance to see your swiveling brats."

"Think of something else and I will gladly reimburse you for your troubles." She replied.

"No, I have everything I could ever want except the presence of a beautiful woman decorating and warming my bed."

"Then find another!" She snapped, trying to keep her composure in front of the two boys who were looking very confused. "I won't do that!"

"Boys, do you remember what I said about your mother not caring enough to see you?" Jeyice asked the boys with a devious smirk.

Both boys nodded and looked down at floor.

"Yet she just told you how much she supposedly cares for you both," he went on.

"Don't listen to him!" she cried, pleadingly looking at Trunks.

"Who do you think they will believe? You, whom they haven't seen in eight years, or me, the person who has for all intents and purposes raised them, hmmm?" He asked. "You see, boys, I told you your parents didn't give a shit about you. Your bitch of a mother who would rather remain here with your traitor of a father who is nothing more than a decorative fixture in here."

"Please stop," she said to him.

"Would you like to see your mother again, Boys?" He asked them and they both nodded quickly. "That's what I thought. Now, unless your mother agrees to pay her dues like any good mother would, I cannot allow you to see her again."

"But why not?" Trunks asked boldly.

"It's complicated but in the end, all on your mother I am afraid." Jeyice shrugged.

It took everything within her to not go over there and strangle that man. How dare he put her in such a position and in front of the boys no less!

"You don't want us to come see you?" Tarble asked, looking upset. Clearly he had no clue as to what Jeyice was insinuating.

"No, I do,"

"But not badly enough," Trunks interjected looking almost accusingly at her.

"There, you see now, boys?" Jeyice asked, feigning sympathy.

"You're a monster!" Bulma snarled at him between grit teeth, glaring daggers at him as her mind raced with trying to come up with some kind of solution to all of this.

"I'm no monster, love," Jeyice shrugged. "I'm the one who has been raising your boys. Keep that in mind. Not to mention if you want to see them again, I have a price, you know what it is so when you are ready, look me up and you can see them almost whenever you like. I will make sure of it. You can even see them tomorrow again if you'd like, just say the word and we can arrange payment later on this evening."

Bulma shook her head at him and didn't even try to keep the tears from falling this time.

"Come on, mom," Trunks said. "Either you want to see us or you don't. I would do anything he asked just to see you and dad."

"Exactly," Jeyice chuckled.

"Me too," Tarble agreed.

"Alright," she answered quietly, feeling completely defeated. She knew the boys had no idea what they were asking of her but she didn't want Jeyice to warp their minds further by convincing them that she and Vegeta had simply selfishly abandoned them. "Alright, I will pay him so we can see each other, alright?"

The side of Trunks mouth turned up in a half smirk so reminiscent of Vegeta it almost made the hair on the back of her neck stood up. "I knew you really wanted to see us."

Bulma could only nod; she didn't have it in her to disappoint him. The relief and happiness that were so evident in his blue eyes nearly broke her heart. "I do," she whispered.

"Yaay!" Tarble happily chirped. "When do we get to see you tomorrow?"

"After training," Jeyice replied. "Now we best get going."

"Alright," both boys nodded, ready to go knowing that they would be back to see their mother again tomorrow.

They both approached her and wrapped their arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. She hugged them back as tightly as she could all the while glaring at Jeyice and the smug look of triumph on his face. He had deliberately done this as a way of entrapping her into agreeing to his sick little proposal. Never in her life could she remember hating anyone as much as she hated him in this moment.

"Come along," he barked almost impatiently at the boys. "We still have training to do, you know."

The boys let Bulma go and followed their sensei out of the lab.

"See you tomorrow, mom," Trunks said to her.

"See you tomorrow, boys. Be good!"

"We will." Both boys replied at the same time before exiting the lab.

"I'll see _you_ later." Jeyice said, pointing and winking at her before leaving.

_Oh, god,_ Bulma thought to herself and raced to a sink in the back of the lab and proceeded to throw up. _What the hell did I just agree to?_ She thought frantically. If it weren't for the boys being present and looking at her pleadingly to agree to do whatever Jeyice wanted so that she could see them, she would have never agreed to this.

She rinsed out her mouth and splashed the cool water on her face before heading back to the room where the regeneration tank was located and looked at Vegeta who was floating peacefully and completely oblivious to her troubles. _Vegeta, can you hear me?_ She asked, placing a hand on the glass in front of his face and trying to reach out to him through the bond. She couldn't feel anything back from him but a haze, which she assumed was because he was very heavily medicated. _Please, Vegeta. I need you right now!_ She tried again.

_I saw Trunks, Vegeta, I saw our son. I need to know what to do! I don't have a lot of time before Jeyice comes back and I need you to tell me what I should do or if you can forgive me if I have no other choice. Please Vegeta, if you can hear me in there, I need you!_

Of course, she got no reply from him and after several more minutes trying to get a response from him, she gave up and went back to cleaning the lab. She had to come up with a way to avoid Jeyice, she just had to. Fortunately for her, she came up with her best ideas when she was cleaning or working on something. Not to mention, Gero would more than likely be back soon and have a fit if the lab wasn't spotless by then.

-0-0-0-

Trunks, Tarble and Jeyice were almost back to the training center when Jeyice got a call on his scouter from Cold, notifying him that he needed to see him immediately. Scoffing in annoyance, Jeyice dismissed the boys to head back to their room and told them to be ready to train early the next morning.

They seemed alright with that and so once he escorted them back to their room, he made his way back to Cold's throne room, wondering what he could possibly want with him? He hoped he wasn't in any trouble; after all it wasn't his fault the brats were lagging, he was doing the very best he could with them. He hoped that Cold would be brief and not take up too much of his time, he still had to go back and make good on his arrangement with Bulma.

He knew he had played dirty in order to get her to agree, but he didn't care. He wanted her more than he could ever remember wanting another female. Not to mention he could not wait to brag to the others about how he'd had Vegeta's woman; she was certainly the talk of the barracks. While no one had made the attempt to go and get her for themselves, he knew that the others would be envious of him. He could not wait to flaunt it.

Jeyice walked into Cold's throne room for the fourth time that day, which was four times too many in one day for his liking. "You wanted to see me, my Lord?"

"Yes, I have an assignment for you, Jeyice," Cold greeted him. "Come sit, have a glass of wine and we will discuss it at length."

Jeyice nodded and took his seat after accepting a glass of wine from the servant. "How may I be of service to you, my Lord?"

"I need you to go and purge the surrounding planets of Vegeta-sei." Cold said. "The planet was surrounded by several other small planets, each heavily armed and close together so that they could return to defend Vegeta-sei or one another within moment's notice. It occurs to me that King Vegeta may be hiding on one of those planets, or would he not be here yet to collect his son?"

Jeyice frowned in confusion at the Ice-jin king. "I thought he was killed on Vegeta-sei when it was destroyed."

"That is only speculation on the woman's part; remember she was not entirely sure. She assumed he was still on planet when it was destroyed; what if he wasn't? What if he is cleverly hiding on one of those bases biding his time and then comes here?"

"I suppose it could be a possibility, my Lord; a narrow one, but a possibility nonetheless, I suppose," he replied. "Are you sure you are not being over paranoid?"

"I would much rather be over paranoid than under paranoid!" he huffed. "Chances are there is nothing left. However I want you to lead a mission and have those planets destroyed, I want there to be no doubt that there is nothing left of the Vegeta empire."

"Very well, my lord," Jeyice nodded. "That may take me a couple of months, however,"

"I do not care how long it takes, so long as it is done."

"Very well, your highness, but what of the two younglings?" he asked. "Who will oversee their training in my absence, or will you allow them to accompany me?"

"Hmm, no, they are not yet ready to accompany you on a mission." Cold said, shaking his head. "I will appoint someone else to train them in your absence."

"Alright," Jeyice agreed. Truthfully, he wasn't opposed to it. He was getting tired of constantly hanging around the two boys. They could be so petulant at times!

"Good! You leave early tomorrow, so I suggest you get your rest." Cold said.

"I leave first thing tomorrow?" Jeyice exclaimed; that didn't fit into his evening plans.

"Yes, I want this taken care of as soon as possible." Cold clarified. "Every single planet that was a part of King Vegeta's empire is to be taken out. I want nothing left behind and I need it done immediately, and as it is, it is a three week trip."

"Very well," Jeyice sighed, finishing his wine and bidding King Cold a good evening. He couldn't believe his bad luck being sent off on such a boring, pointless mission as this! He was going to head back to his room in the barracks, but then decided to still pay Bulma a quick visit before turning in for the night. She did after all owe him as part of their agreement.

"My, what a sendoff," he chuckled out loud in the hall as he turned tail and made his way back to the science lab.

-0-0-0-

Tunks frowned in concentration as he manipulated a small ki ball. He was laying on his bed contemplating the day's events.

He felt happy that he had seen his mother. He had been so sure that he had remembered her and now he knew that he had remembered her. It had been a topic of argument many times between him and Tarble. He swore he remembered their mother and Tarble insisted that he didn't because he himself had no recollection of her.

As he sat there thoughts of his father began to take shape. It disturbed him that not only did he only vaguely remember him, but it bothered him to see the man whom he had heard so much about, the man he secretly idolized in a regeneration tank. Anything he had heard about him was always about how strong he was. Yes, they had told him all about how it was his treasonous actions and arrogance had been his downfall, that the only way he was able to be defeated was at the hands of artificial intelligence and strength; that without the androids, he would have been unstoppable.

It was rumored that his father was stronger than King Cold himself. That had always fascinated Trunks. He could not remember much about him, but he wanted to be just like him. He wanted to make a name for himself. He wanted to be even stronger and better than his father was. He never made it known, for fear of punishment, but he loved hearing anything about his father.

It was like he could never know enough about him and it didn't matter if it was something good or bad that someone said about him; if it pertained to Vegeta, he had to know.

"Would you stop doing that?" Tarble asked him irritably.

"What?"

"That. With your ki," Tarble clarified. "You always do it when you're upset over something and it's annoying."

"It relaxes me," Trunks replied, not stopping. "You should try it; it would help with your control you know."

"I know that but it's too hard. I'm tired." Tarble sighed. "And I just want to sleep but I can't with you doing that."

"So roll over, close your eyes and go to sleep." Trunks snorted. "And it's not hard if you work at it, which you don't."

"Because it's too hard for me to control. I don't know why you're so good at that and I'm not. Just like everything." He pouted, rolling over so his back was facing his brother.

"So work at it," Trunks sighed.

"I do."

"Ya, when we are training and you have no choice," Trunks pointed out. "Try working on things when we aren't training. That's the only thing you and I do that's different."

"But I'm so tired after training, Trunks."

"I know, I am too, but I push myself anyway. You should too so we both quit getting into trouble." Trunks said, trying not to sound resentful, still playing with his ki ball. "You know I had an idea today."

"What's your idea?" Tarble asked excitedly, turning around in his bed to face Trunks.

"Well, Jeyice said that King Cold wants us to start going on missions soon, so if you can get stronger then we get to go."

"Why is that a good idea, Trunks? I don't want to go on any missions. Didn't you see some of those guys in the barracks who just got back from that other mission?" Tarble exclaimed. "I don't want to be sent away."

"They won't send us on anything hard like that for a while. But think about it- if we are sent on a mission it means we can leave here. Don't you want to leave?"

"Well ya, but where would we go?" Tarble asked after thinking about it for a moment.

"Anywhere," Trunks shrugged. "Far from here."

"I guess," Tarble agreed. "But how would we get away?"

"Lots of ways," Trunks replied as though it were a stupid question. "We could fake our death so they leave without us, or steal a ship. I think I'm getting good enough at flying that I could manage. I think you could too if you don't freak out; you are the better pilot."

"That's right, I am," he nodded proudly.

"We could see if mom wants to come too." Trunks added. "Now that we know for sure that she's here and where to go to visit her, maybe she can come with us."

"Do you think?" Tarble asked. "I still don't remember her but she's exactly like how you said she was. What about father? Do you think he would want to come too?"

"I don't know, maybe." Trunks shrugged. He still wasn't sure what to think about their father. Sure he practically idolized him, but having seen him there in the regeneration tank like that had really disturbed him. He'd had dreams and had entertained fantasies about meeting his father.

Needless to say, seeing him for the first time ever in a regeneration tank wasn't what he'd had in mind. He'd wanted to talk to him, train, and spar and learn from him. His father was supposedly the best. Yet if he was the best, then why was he in a regeneration tank? And if he was the best then why were they here? His mother hadn't even been able to answer that.

"For now let's just focus on getting strong enough to be sent out on missions and what we get to do. Then we can decide how to leave," Trunks said after a long pause. "Maybe if they trust us, they will give us our own ship and we can escape that way."

"Ya, I guess," Tarble agreed. "What if they split us up though?"

"Don't know," Trunks shrugged. "You always have your scouter, right?"

"Ya,"

"Then we can still keep in touch."

"Ooh! Trunks! We should make up a secret code so no one knows but us what we are talking about!" Tarble said excitedly.

"That's a really good idea," Trunks agreed. "We should do that, and you need to start training when we aren't training."

"Ok, I will tomorrow." Tarble nodded. "I'll train with you after Jeyice dismisses us."

"Alright."

With that, Tarble rolled over to try and sleep but Trunks continued to stay awake and play with his small ball of ki as though he were completely transfixed by it.

As he sat there still playing absentmindedly with the ki ball, he was hit with something. He wasn't sure if it was a memory or a flashback but it gave him a strange feeling of deja vu almost.

There was a bright white aura in front of him and the outline of the blackest hair standing straight up. As always, he couldn't quite make out the face, but he knew it was his father.

As he thought on it he realized that the white aura was a ki ball not unlike the one he was currently manipulating. That was what was shielding his father's face from him. As he frowned in concentration he remembered the hard jawline and noticed how his mouth was poised in what wasn't a smile but more of a smirk.

He remembered the familiar, large hand holding the ki ball just in front of him invitingly as though encouraging him to take it. He focused and looked at that hand as it manipulated the small ball of ki so easily as though it were nothing. It bounced from finger to finger and back again.

Trunks did that now with his own small ball of ki. He remembered thinking it was so neat that someone could manipulate it like that.

It came to him then why he always associated the thought of large hands with his father; maybe he had done this exercise with him when he was younger? Was that why he always reverted to doing this when he was in deep thought? He never wondered before until this very moment. It was like the memory of it hit him like a sledge hammer right then and he had the sudden overwhelming need to go back to the science lab and look in on him.

Maybe he was out now and he could talk to him and ask him? Or maybe his mother knew? Now that he knew exactly where they were, he wanted to go and see them, know them. Jeyice couldn't be right when he told them repeatedly that they wanted nothing to do with Tarble and himself.

While it was all he'd ever been told, something about it never felt right to him. Tarble had been more accepting of that explanation for reasons Trunks never understood; the same way he didn't understand how he just knew deep down in his bones that what they had been told was a lie.

It didn't sit well with him either how reluctant his mother had been to agree to whatever payment Jeyice wanted from her. What could he have wanted that was so bad she would rather not pay him than see him and Tarble? He had felt that she was sincerely glad to have seen them and that she really did want to see them again, until Jeyice asked for a payment of some sort.

As he lay there he came to the conclusion that he needed to find out; he needed to speak with his mother and find out what Jeyice wanted from her and get answers to some of the other questions he had.

He got out of bed and proceeded to change into his flight suit and put on his armor and gloves.

"What are you doing now, Trunks?" Tarble asked sleepily, sitting up. He had almost fallen asleep when he'd heard Trunks moving around.

"I'm going to see Mom," he answered, standing up and looking for his gloves.

"Why?"

"Because I think something isn't right," he answered. "She was really upset to agree to what Jeyice wanted from her."

""Ya, I noticed that." Tarble agreed. "Can I come with you?"

"If you hurry up," Trunks answered, he was all ready to go.

"I'll hurry! I want to see her too!" he announced, jumping out of bed to get changed.

-0-0-0-

Jeyice walked into the lab quietly, hoping there wasn't anyone else around. It was quiet and there was an Android standing guard but that was about it.

"I need to speak with the woman that works here," Jeyice said to the Android.

It pointed to the end of the hall. "She resides in the last room on the right and is not to exit the premises under any circumstances."

"Don't worry, we won't be going anywhere," Jeyice said walking by the android. Once he made it, he knocked once before opening the door and letting himself into a small room. There was a single-person bed against the wall on the right; at the end was a small kitchenette with a countertop, stove and fridge and to the left a doorframe to where he assumed was a bathroom and shower.

She wasn't there from what he could tell so he left, and headed back into the lab where he found her sitting on the floor next to Vegeta's regeneration tank with her head in her hands. She looked up suddenly as she heard him walk into the room. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?" She demanded.

"I am here to collect my payment, love," he said. "It would seem that I am going to be gone on a very long mission. Could be two months or more before I am able to return. I was hoping you would give me something of a proper send off, something for me to think on and look forward to returning to."

"Get out." She replied flatly, despite knowing that it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of him.

"Awe, come on, love," he whined. "Don't you think I deserve a reward for letting you see your brats this afternoon?"

"I thanked you," she said, standing up to face him.

"Not properly."

Bulma's back went rigid as he came towards her. She reached into her pocket and gripped the small knife she had started carrying since she had arrived here. Vegeta had warned her during the trial to keep herself armed at all times and she had not taken his warning lightly. It was only a small hand knife she had found in the lab amongst Gero's many tools, but it was sharp and compact enough that she could conceal it easily in anything she wore.

She turned to put some space between him and herself but he was quick to grab hold of her, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her up against him. "Come on now, play nice," he chided as she struggled against him. "I have taken care of your boys and will continue to do so and will allow you to continue to see them on a regular basis. I feel I am _more_ than entitled to something in return, don't you?"

"Let me go!" She objected, trying to get herself free from his grasp. Her arms were pinned to her sides so she could not elbow him or stab at him with her knife.

Jeyice chuckled as he swung her around effortlessly into a wall, dazing her somewhat; she was still conscious, but she dropped her knife on the floor and quit fighting him. "That's not very nice," he said to her, kicking the knife away and into a far corner before shoving her into the table across from the regeneration tank.

Bulma braced herself against it and turned away from him but he came up behind her, placing his arms on either side of the table, trapping her there.

"It won't be that bad, love. I've been around the block. I know how to please a woman," he said into her right ear, leaning into her. "I think we'd have a great time."

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She couldn't do this.

"Come on," he coaxed gently, bringing a hand to the front of her waist and pressing himself into her, making his intentions felt. "I will make sure to make it worth your while, you get to see your boys, your boys in turn get to see their mother and I get off. See? It's a win win scenario for everyone involved."

"And Vegeta?" She asked.

Jeyice shrugged. "Too bad. Not my concern."

Bulma hung her head in defeat. "I can't, I can't betray him. It would destroy him."

"So what?" He scoffed cruelly, fumbling with the button on her pants. "Then don't tell him. What good is he to you now, hmm? And what do you think he would say if he knew you had an opportunity to keep in touch with your boys and didn't? I don't think he would be too pleased to find that out."

Bulma put a hand on his to stop him from undoing her pants.

"And do you really want to disappoint your boys in that way? You agreed to my terms right in front of them. Can you imagine the looks on their faces when I tell them their own mother changed her mind?" Jeyice baited her. "How crushed do you think they'll be? I wouldn't blame them if they never wanted to see you again after I tell them you don't want to see them. Maybe I'll even tell them about how I fucked their mother as well? About how you would prefer to spend your time with me, riding my cock all night while forgetting all about them and betraying their father?"

She turned her head to look at him. "You wouldn't."

"You don't think I would? I'm not leaving here until you give me what I want, love." He said determinedly. "How I get it is up to you. Just think, if you give in then you get to see your boys tomorrow. If you don't, I'm still going to have you right here and now but I won't allow you to see your boys. The choice is yours, woman."

" _Don't_ call me that!" she snarled. That term of endearment was reserved for Vegeta and Vegeta alone.

"Okay, okay," He chuckled lightly, his lips brushing the side of her neck. "What would you like for me to call you then, Hmmm? I can call you anything you like."

Bulma's breathing became labored as anxiety and panic ripped through her as she realized that she wasn't going to be able to talk herself out of this. The way she saw it she had no choice but to give into him and let him have his way with her. If she didn't, he was going to rape her anyway and she'd be hurt and unable to see her boys; if she went along with this he may not hurt her and she could come to know Trunks and Tarble and maybe they could help her formulate some sort of plan.

"Alright," she sighed defeated, hanging her head in shame. "You can have me. I will not fight you but I have one condition."

"And what may that be?" He asked, sliding his hand down the front of her pants, cupping her between her legs.

"I get to see my boys tomorrow, right?" She asked, swallowing down a wave of nausea as he touched her.

"Uhm-hmm," he confirmed, trailing his lips down her neck seductively.

"And what about when you are gone on your mission for however long?" She asked. "I want to be able to see them every day."

"I can see what I can do," he said slipping his other hand beneath her shirt and groping her left breast underneath her bra.

"No, that's not good enough," she snapped, removing his hand from beneath her shirt. "I want a guarantee from you that I get to see my boys _everyday_ while you are gone. You do that and I'll make tonight worth your time."

"Done deal, kitten," he said, shoving his hand back up her top and working her pants off. "It shall be arranged."

_Oh god!_ She cried to herself. _What am I doing? Vegeta, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me!_

"Wait! Stop!" she cried out loud.

"What?" He grumbled, still trying to pull her pants down past her hips.

"Not here," she said, grabbing his wrist of the hand that was trying to remove her pants. "Not in front of Vegeta. And I want your guarantee about the boys first."

"Who cares about Vegeta. I think I should fuck you right here, right in front of him and hopefully he'll wake up. That'll teach him." he said coolly.

"No," she said firmly. "We can go back to my room and do this."

"Fine," he huffed, stepping away from her. "I'll make sure you see your boys while I am gone, you have my word on that- now let's get down to business, you and I."

Bulma grit her teeth together until her jaw ached. Unable to give Vegeta another glance in her guilt, she turned and exited the lab, Jeyice right on her trail.

They made it to her small room and she shut the door.

As Bulma stood there trying to figure out what to do, Jeyice pounced on her, roughly pinning her against her closed door.

She turned her face away from him, trying to avoid a kiss and his mouth connected to the side of her face and trailed urgently down her neck.

Bulma stood stock still with her eyes shut as Jeyice devoured her neck with his mouth and tongue. _I'm not here, this isn't happening to me, I'm not doing this,_ she chanted inwardly to herself again and again as she felt his hands roaming her body. _If I open my eyes, it will be Vegeta who's touching me, not Jeyice._

She opened her eyes and was hit with the most excruciating grief in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the white hair and orange skin. She covered her mouth with her hand and stifled a sob. How could she do this?

"Come on, love; I know you can do a whole lot better than that." Jeyice said, removing his armor and discarding it on the floor. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want me to give you access to see your boys while I'm away. You promised me this would be worth my while. So far, I am disappointed."

Bulma nodded in agreement. She had said that; of course saying that and _doing_ that were proving to be two completely different things. She decided the best way to make it through this would be to just _pretend_ that he was Vegeta. With that strategy in mind, she took off her top and tossed it onto the floor before slipping out of her pants and stood in front of him trying to keep a straight face and refraining from covering herself.

"Now that's a bit better," he smirked, looking her up and down appreciatively. "I remember you from when you performed on Vegeta-sei."

"Do you now?" she asked, trying to gather her bearings before he inevitably touched her again.

"You bet," he nodded, taking his flight suit off. "I thought even then that you were too good to be with the likes of Vegeta. Looks like I was right."

Bulma looked at the floor and didn't say anything in reply.

Jeyice reached for her, placing a hand on the back of her neck, and crashed his lips against hers, forcing her to kiss him. Bulma grimaced and scrunched her face up in complete and utter revulsion for a moment as his lips connected with hers. She reminded herself that she needed to go along with this and reluctantly opened her mouth to him.

Bulma closed her eyes and placed both of her hands on his shoulders as he attacked her lips rather aggressively, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She frowned into the sloppy, demanding kiss. Pretending he was Vegeta was going to be a whole lot harder than she originally had thought.

Vegeta kissed by the book. His lips were full and soft, not thin. When Vegeta kissed her it was never sloppy, he didn't simply shove his tongue obtrusively down her throat as though he was trying to rape her mouth or make her choke on it; no, he would tease her mouth with his tongue, subtly asking for access by licking her top lip or nipping at her bottom lip playfully, and when she gave in and opened her mouth to him in acceptance, he would only tease her by flicking her tongue or roof of her mouth with just the tip of his own for a little before taking over her mouth, but in a manner that was pleasant, not domineering. He would massage her tongue with his own and then suck on her tongue, encouraging her to explore his mouth.

Kissing Vegeta left her breathless.

Kissing Vegeta was usually all the foreplay she ever needed.

Her thoughts of Vegeta were interrupted then as Jeyice began to run his hands over her body in a rough, very _un_ -Vegeta-like manner; he groped at her ass and backed her up against the door again, this time not leaving any space between them as he leaned into her. She could feel his erection pressing insistently into her thigh and she had to stave off the alarm coursing through her from that and the fact that his hand had slipped down the front of her underwear and he was now stroking her.

Bulma cried out in shame and grief as he inserted two of his fingers into her and he mistook that as a cry of pleasure and quickened his ministrations, grabbing a leg and encouraging her to hook it around his hip. She looked up at the ceiling as he continued to probe, paw at, kiss and lick her all the while completely oblivious that she was wishing the ground would swallow her up whole, or that lightning would miraculously strike, killing her on the spot.

Suddenly she vaguely felt him stop what he was doing and the next thing she knew she was laying on her bed and her undergarments were now gone. She hadn't really noticed as she had mentally checked herself out from this horrible reality that was taking place.

He pinned both her hands up above her head as he thrust himself simultaneously inside her. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in discomfort; she wasn't ready for him despite his brief attempt at foreplay earlier on.

It was over fairly quickly.

Bulma grabbed her comforter curled on her side in with her knees up to her chest the moment he heaved himself off of her to get himself dressed.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked her casually, sitting on the side of the bed, pulling on his boots. "It'll be better next time now that we know each other, hey?"

Bulma didn't reply.

"I'll see you when I get back," he said, standing up and running a finger along her covered body. "I am a man of my word, love. You will see your boys tomorrow and as much as you like while I am gone."

She still didn't reply; all she wanted was for him to leave. She hoped he died a horrible, excruciating death on whatever mission he was sent on so that he would never come back.

Jeyice said something else to her that she even didn't hear as he left her room, closing the door after him. The moment he was gone, her body convulsed into gut wrenching sobs. "How could I?" she cried. While a small voice in the back of her mind told her it wasn't her fault and that she didn't have another choice, it didn't make her feel any better. If she'd have fought him the whole way through she'd still be in the same position of grief with who knows what kind of injuries and no chance of seeing Trunks at all or, maybe ever.

She managed to remove herself from her bed after an unspecified amount of time and stumble to the bathroom, turning the shower on and jumping in, not even waiting for the water to warm up. She wasn't sure how long she spent scrubbing her skin until it was red trying to wash _him_ off of her as much as possible before she sunk down on to the tile floor and sobbed her heart out.

How could she ever face Vegeta again? She thought in shame. Of all the things to happen why this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me… *bats eyes adorably*. I didn't make the decision to take this path lightly. In fact I agonized over it- quite literally for weeks and it even kept me up at night. All I can say is I hope I didn't offend anyone. If you stick with me on this journey, it will be worth it. However, I must warn- it's still going to be a ways off before things are made right, but everything will right itself and be resolved, I promise. Trust me!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Happy holidays! Once again, my apologies for the long delay. I had most of this done but then lost it all once... Then re did it and lost a portion of it.. Twice… Technology is not always a good thing and me and my laptop aren't exactly friends at the moment… Then I sent it to the lovely Dragonbabezee to beta and take a look at a few weeks back and instead of posting it like I should have, I decided that I needed to change/add some things... I did try to lighten things up a little and with that in mind, advanced a few things that I was planning on leaving for a little later on. And because of the long wait, I essentially compiled 2 chapters into one big LONG chapter for everyone… I didn't think anyone would complain considering how long it`s been. ;)
> 
> Yes, I know a great deal many of you are upset with me over the last chapter- I knew that would happen before embarking on such a thing and posting. All I can say to some of your reviews (Those that were not signed in, I cannot respond individually to you. Those that were signed in I did try to reply- if I missed anyone, I'm sorry!) But I will say- I am sorry you're upset! I totally get it- if I were in your shoes, I'd probably be pissed with the author as well… However being that I am the author and I already know all of the ins and outs of it all and the little twists and eventual outcome of everything- I have that advantage over those reading and following this as I post. Just trust me and understand that I wouldn't have taken such a dark, drastic leap if I didn't already have a firm solution already worked out on how I plan on resolving it all- And I can't give away anything more than that because if I do, I'll ruin it for everyone and I can't wait to get there! But thank you all for your reviews and input (Positive and negative) I do appreciate it!
> 
> Moving on… Here's the new update… :D
> 
> Enjoy!

_**Chapter 28** _

Bulma was unaware of how long she'd been sitting in the shower, letting the warm water fall on her after she'd scrubbed nearly every inch of her body that she could possibly reach until her skin burned; the gentle, warm water pelting down on her was oddly comforting.

She was spent and exhausted both mentally and physically, having purged her system of everything until there was nothing left. She couldn't even cry anymore but her body still shook from the aftershock of what had just happened to her.

Try as she may, she couldn't banish it from her mind. When she felt like she had gotten a hold of herself, she found herself hit with either another round of nausea or another emotional outburst.

It didn't matter what she did; she could still either visualize him on top of her or feel him touching her and it was those thoughts that consumed her at the moment. _What had it all been for_ , she wondered?

"I deserve this," she whispered out loud to herself as she remained huddled on the floor under the steady stream of water. "I deserve it. Vegeta even said that. I deserve whatever happened with his father and I deserve this too... He told me to leave and I didn't when he said to. This is all my fault."

How could she ever face Vegeta again, she wondered for the umpteenth time? Would he ever be able to see past this? Would it even matter to him that she'd had no real choice in the matter? Betrayal was betrayal no matter the circumstances surrounding it. Was that how he would see this?

She nearly began hyperventilating from the agony at the thought of eventually having to tell him what she'd done or rather what she had _let_ take place.

What if he couldn't look past this and finally saw her for what she really was: a weak, frail girl who couldn't look after herself and not worthy of him. _No, he won't think that, he won't._ She kept telling herself.

Though she knew this would devastate him possibly even more so than she herself already was, she decided that _not_ telling him was better for the time being. On the other hand, she wasn't sure if she could not _not_ tell him. Her guilt and misery was almost too much to bare and she had no one to talk to about it. It had been hard enough keeping the news about his father from him. She did feel a tremendous amount of guilt over it; it was the only thing she had ever kept from him since their union and she hated not being completely open with him, especially over something that had hurt and affected her so deeply and on such a personal level.

Once they had arrived here and the joke of a trial against Vegeta had ended, Bulma decided then and there that she would not dwell on or think about what had happened with his father again. Everything and anyone to do with it was dead and gone so there was no way for it to come back and haunt her; she refused to let it. She felt that to dwell on it for even let it affect her on any level for even a moment was letting his father win. That's what he had set out to do, wasn't it? To break her. She wouldn't let him. Even from beyond the grave she felt he would win if she let his actions get to her.

Of course telling herself that she wouldn't let him affect her and it actually not were two completely different things. But she figured she had done a good job so far in putting it behind her… Until now.

She took a deep breath and decided to put it back to the furthest part of her mind, back where it belonged and where Vegeta would most likely not be able to find it. Putting the incident with Jeyice away would be harder because it was still so fresh but she would decide when Vegeta got out of the regeneration tank if she should tell him or not.

She wanted nothing more than to get out of here and take solace in Vegeta... If he would still want her after he found out about everything…

Bulma shook her head and stood up finally, deciding that she couldn't dwell on that possibility. Not right now. It would destroy her completely if Vegeta left her over this and right now the only thing getting her through this was focusing on getting him and the boys out of here as soon as possible.

Deciding that she wasn't doing herself any good sitting there feeling sorry for herself, Bulma shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. She combed her hair and threw it up into a loose bun on top of her head before drying herself off and putting on the thickest most comfiest pair of sweat pants and loose t-shirt from way back before her home had been destroyed.

Bulma gave herself a self-loathing look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom and crawling into bed; all she wanted to do was go to bed and forget that today had ever even happened.

She made a sour face and swallowed another lump of emotion in her throat as she was reminded of what had taken place here with Jeyice just a short time ago before she finally curled herself up into a ball and buried herself under the comforter, wishing she had extra sheets to change these soiled ones. She wouldn't feel better unless she burned the mattress as well and got them to get her a new one, however she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none so she closed her eyes and decided to try her best to get some sleep.

Maybe tomorrow it would somehow be better.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble carefully navigated down the halls from the barracks towards the science wing. They found themselves lost at least once and that had developed into an argument and brief scuffle in the halls, Trunks blaming Tarble because he had been there already and should have remembered the way and Tarble blaming Trunks for not paying attention on their way out and then again the blame went back to Tarble; Trunks insisted because Tarble had gone to _and_ from the lab, that he should have remembered better than him how to get there.

Eventually they found their way.

"Hide!" Trunks hissed as they saw Jeyice coming around the corner. Tarble leaped up into the air and pressed himself up against the ceiling within a crevice and Trunks darted into the crevice where there was a fake plant and stood as close to the wall as possible, his back facing the direction Jeyice was coming from so he wouldn't see Trunks unless he stopped and looked into the crevice.

As he walked by leisurely, oblivious to the boys' presence, they both looked at each other curiously. He smelled of Bulma. Neither of them uttered a sound, but both of them knew that something was off about this.

They waited for Jeyice to turn the corner, clearly he was on his way back to the barracks and his own quarters presumably. They waited a few more minutes before Tarble came down and landed next to Trunks.

"Did you smell him?" He asked.

"Ya, he smells like mom," Trunks nodded and for whatever reason he felt the overwhelming need to follow him and beat him senseless. "Something really isn't right. I don't know what it is, but it's bad."

"I think so too," Tarble agreed. "Do you think he killed her?"

"I don't think so," Trunks shook his head. "He didn't have blood on him. He just smells _like_ her. Let's go find out."

" _Wait_!" Tarble whispered hoarsely as Trunks darted in the direction Jeyice had gone, rational thought now evading him. He stopped though and turned to Tarble in question. "Shouldn't we check on mom first and see if she's okay? She might tell us. If we go after Jeyice, he's just going to be mad, I doubt he will tell us anything helpful and then we both will get a beating for wandering around where we shouldn't."

"You're right," Trunks nodded, his hands balled into fists at his side. "We should make sure mom is okay first; she may be hurt."

They both nodded in determination and continued down the hallway, being very careful to be quiet.

"Trunks," Tarble whispered.

"What?"

"I can still smell him."

"Ya, me too. That's how I know we are going the right way now." Trunks said.

They came up to the lab doors where the Android was standing guard.

"Hey, mister," Trunks addressed it after clearing his throat.

The Android looked down at him but did not say anything.

"My name is Trunks and this is my brother Tarble," he introduced themselves. "Our mom is in there and we were wanting to visit with her."

The android nodded once. "Permission granted," it said.

"Whoa, really?" Tarble exclaimed, they hadn't thought it would be that easy.

"Visitation with her is restricted to the confines of the lab but you both have clearance to see her once per day. She is not, however, permitted to leave these premises."

"Wow!" Trunks exclaimed. "No worries, we're just happy to visit her. Thanks!"

"Didn't Jeyice say if she paid him, we could see her like every day?" Tarble asked as they walked into the lab.

"Yea," Trunks said with a frown, it only dawning on him now that it never occurred to him to find out what form of _payment_ Jeyice had wanted from her. He shrugged it off, hopefully it wasn't too expensive. He was just happy to be able to see and meet his parents finally after all this time.

"You will find her in the last room on your right," the android informed them before the door shut behind them.

The boys quietly walked down the hall and stopped at the closed door they were told was her room.

"What should we do?" Tarble whispered.

"Dunno," Trunks shrugged. "Knock, I guess."

Trunks knocked quietly at the door and they waited a few moments. There was no answer.

"Do think maybe she's gone?" Tarble asked in a whisper.

"Doubt it, the Android said she can't leave, remember?" Trunks replied. "Maybe she's sleeping." He knocked again a little bit louder this time.

"Go away," they heard faintly on the other side of the door.

The boys looked at each other in confusion a moment, silently debating on what to do before knocking again. "Mom?" Trunks called out. "It's just me and Tarble. We came to see you."

Again, there was no response but a few moments later she opened the door just a crack and checked to see if it really was them. "Are you alone?" she asked. "Or is Jeyice with you?"

"No, we came by ourselves. Jeyice doesn't even know we're here." Trunks said.

She opened the door a little wider to let them in before quickly shutting it again. "What are you two doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Trunks said with a slight frown. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good." He noted awkwardly. It looked like she'd been crying.

"I'm fine, sweetie, just tired," she said unconvincingly, her voice cracking as she tried to hold herself together and smiling weakly. "I'm just glad you're here."

Trunks frowned and looked at Tarble who had a very similar look on his face. She smelled like Jeyice but looked alright for the most part aside from looking a little shaken up. "He upset you, didn't he?"

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown, her stomach dropping. She did not want the boys knowing about it.

"We saw him in the hall on our way here, he smelled like you," Tarble said. "We hid so he wouldn't see us, but we could smell you on him. Did he beat you or something? You kinda smell like him too a bit."

_Damned Saiyans and their freakish sense of smell,_ she cursed inwardly. She still obviously hadn't showered him off of her and that brought on another weave of anxiety and nausea. She covered her mouth with her hand as she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves again. "No, no; he didn't do anything. He was here and we came to an agreement and everything is alright."

Trunks shook his head. "Are you sure? Because he can be real mean when he wants to be,"

"It's ok sweetie, everything is fine," she said soothingly. "At least this way we get to see each other and visit, right? That's all that matters."

Tarble stood there with a frown, not sure what to say. What exactly had Jeyice done? She looked alright for the most part. It didn't look like he'd hurt her but he could tell she was upset about something. He looked warily at Trunks, who looked just as confused as he was.

"What's done is done. Jeyice has been sent on a long mission so it doesn't matter. We won't be seeing him for a very long time," she said, trying her best to be as positive as possible even though inside she was reeling.

Trunks nodded, relaxing somewhat and looking around her room skeptically. "Is this where you live?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, walking into the small kitchenette. "Would you like something to drink? I have bottled water or I could make you something warm if you'd like?" Bulma asked, nervously looking around in the kitchen trying to scrounge something up for them.

"Umm sure?" Tarble replied as Trunks nodded. "Water is okay; for both of us."

"Alright," she said, taking two bottles out of the small fridge and handing one to each of them. She herself wanted something warm and comforting to drink. Gero was a huge coffee and tea drinker himself so she would sometimes steal packets from his lab stash for herself here and there.

Bulma chose a lemon tea for herself and popped a bag in the kettle and left it on the stove to heat up, walking into the rest of the miniature room. She offered them a seat on the small couch but they both opted to stand. By then her tea was ready and she came back to them, mug in hand and curled up on the couch with her knees to her chest, trying to appear calm in front of them.

"You boys are sure you won't get into trouble for coming here?" She asked.

"It should be fine," Tarble shrugged.

"Ya, the android said it was okay and that we can come once a day so long as we stay here." Trunks said.

Bulma nodded, feeling somewhat better that Jeyice had already made good on his word. Maybe that was what he'd said to her on his way out? She had been so upset and rattled, she hadn't heard what he'd said, though she did remember him telling her something before finally leaving. "That's good. I'm glad you came."

"Ya, I- well, _we_ wanted to see you," Trunks said, looking uncomfortable. "I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about you and dad. I think I remembered something about him."

"Oh! Is he out of the tank yet?" Tarble asked excitedly.

"No, he's still in there," Bulma shook her head. "Even if he's out, I don't think you would be able to see him. He stays someplace else."

"You guys don't live together?" Trunks asked curiously.

"No," she shook her head. "He has to stay in the lab and I live here,"

"That sucks," Tarble huffed. "Maybe we can come here one day when he's out?"

Bulma shrugged, not wanting to let them down, but the last thing she wanted was for them to walk in on Gero while he was preforming one of his sick experiments on Vegeta. "Maybe. I know he would like very much to see and meet you both."

"Well, one day, I guess," Trunks shrugged. "Hopefully soon."

"Hopefully," Bulma agreed. "You said you remembered something about him, Trunks?"

"Yea," he lit up. "I always do this thing with my ki," he explained, making a ki ball and demonstrating to her.

"He does it _all_ the time," Tarble rolled his eyes, sitting on the floor. "It's annoying."

"Did dad use to manipulate ki with us?" Trunks asked, ignoring Tarble. "I do it all the time and until today, I never thought about it until after we saw him; I think I remember him doing something like that with me."

"Yea, but _I_ don't remember, Trunks," Tarble nagged at him. "Why would _you_ remember and not me and why would he not do that with me too?"

Trunks rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Unless I just _think_ I remember it and I actually don't."

Bulma smiled and tried to keep herself from not getting emotional and come up with a viable explanation for them.

"I remembered you," Trunks pointed out. "I remembered mom alright; I don't know why you didn't. Maybe you were just dropped on your head."

"Hey, no," Bulma cut in. "No one was dropped on their head. Or at least they weren't when we were all together safe and sound. I am sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation why Tarble doesn't remember things that I am sure he will figure out when he's older."

Tarble gave her a bit of a funny look but seemed to accept her comment.

"Anyway yes, Trunks, your father used to play with ki with you," Bulma nodded. "He used to with you too, Tarble but not as much. You… didn't respond to it the same. However you did start walking before Trunks did." _At least that much is true._ She told herself. She didn't want to lie to Tarble but at the same time figured that it didn't matter at the moment and to tell him about his _true_ origins now, at this point in time would do more harm than good. Who knew what King Cold would do if he found out the truth about Tarble? She did not want to risk finding out, nor chance having the boys separated from one another. If there was any advantage in all of this, Vegeta had been correct about one thing: at least they had _each other_.

"Yea, Tarble learned to fly before me too," Trunks admitted. "So tell us something about you."

Bulma shrugged. She wanted to know about them, not discuss herself; although to be fair they were in the same boat as she was she supposed and they all needed to start somewhere. "Sure," she smiled at them. "What would you like to know? But I'll only answer if you guys tell me something about yourselves after. We can take turns. Fair?"

"That's fair," Tarble nodded, looking at Trunks. "What should we ask her?"

"Hmm," Trunks grunted. He had plenty of things he wanted to know but now that he was faced with being able to ask her, he found it hard to come up with something. "I know! How did you and dad meet?"

Bulma sighed and smiled. Of course it had to be something that required a lengthy explanation.

"Yea! How did you meet being that you're not a Saiyan and all?" Tarble asked.

"Alright," she nodded, getting off the couch and sitting on the floor in front of them. "That's a long story. I'll tell it but then you guys have to tell me something really cool about yourselves, alright?"

"Yea!" they both agreed.

"Alright, well I lived on a planet far, far away from here called Earth and one day some evil aliens came and destroyed it. I was taken and sold before that happened and I was working at a place that was like a restaurant with entertainment," she started.

"What's a restaurant?" Tarble asked and Trunks nodded.

Bulma caught herself, realizing that they would have no way of knowing what that was. "It's a place where you can go to socialize and have a good meal. I don't think they have them here, but if we ever get out of here, I'll take you guys to one. I was working at one at the time and your father came in with a few of his fellow… comrades."

"Cool!" Trunks exclaimed. "And then what?"

"Nope, it's my turn to ask you now, kiddo." Bulma shook her head with a smile. "How long have you both been training?"

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. "As far back as we can remember, really." Tarble answered.

"Ya," Trunks agreed. "Once we both could walk. I remember we were in the time chamber when we learning to walk better and fly. I don't really remember much but for little things here and there before that."

"Me neither," Tarble answered. "When I try to remember things, all I really remember is Jeyice."

"Ya, Jeyice mostly," Trunks nodded. "Anything that isn't little things about you or dad is Jeyice."

"So Jeyice has raised you both then?" she asked. "How's that been?"

"Ya. Jeyice mostly. There's a few other guys that we have to train with when Jeyice isn't around, but mostly it's him," Tarble said. "Hey, you cheated! You asked us _two_ things that time!"

"Three total, actually," she grinned. "But you only answered two so you guys can ask me two questions."

"So what happened when you and dad met?" Trunks asked.

"Hey, you went last time! I want to ask her something too!" Tarble objected.

"Okay, you both get to ask me," she snickered at them. "Let me answer the first one and then you get to ask me one too, okay Tarble?"

"Okay," he nodded shooting Trunks a triumphant look.

"Well, we met and we liked each other very much," she started and was wondering then how much they knew on slave trade and planet purging so she decided to keep her story as simple as possible in case she accidentally told them something she shouldn't be. She didn't want her visiting privileges revoked. "Your father left to go back home and in the few weeks it took for him to get there, he decided that he wanted me to come with him."

"He liked you a lot, didn't he?" Trunks asked with a smile.

"He did," she nodded with what she knew was the first genuine smile to grace her face in _months_.

"I bet he thought you were really pretty!" Tarble said.

"I think so," Bulma nodded again. "I liked him a lot too and he was very handsome. You _both_ look a lot like him actually. I remember seeing a picture of him when he was about your age, maybe a little younger, and he looked just like you, Tarble. He had bangs too that eventually receded or maybe he cut them, I'm not sure; I never thought to ask him but you look a lot like him when he was younger.

"Trunks, you look like him too, only you also look a lot like me and you resemble your grandfather on my side as well. He had hair your color; but your facial features and expressions all remind me of your father."

"We always wondered why I looked so different." Trunks said. "We've seen pictures and video footage of father and everyone says Tarble looks like him but I _act_ like him."

"You've seen footage of him?" Bulma asked almost in alarm and wondered why and what they'd been shown. When Frieza and Gero had shown her footage of Vegeta she had been horrified at what she'd seen.

"Yea," both boys nodded.

"King Cold and Jeyice showed us so that we would know where we come from because we are the last Saiyans," Tarble said. "They said we needed to understand where we came from but also we needed to be like him. He was the best but that he was bad; he betrayed King Cold and-"

"Don't talk about it," Trunks said bitterly, cutting him off. "They keep telling us to be strong like him but to not think like him."

"What do they mean by that?" Bulma asked.

"Well, I guess he was trained by King Cold's son kind of like Jeyice has trained us under King Cold's direction and at some point it all went to his head and he betrayed them all when he shouldn't have because the Saiyan are under Ice-jin rule and he tried to break away even after everything they have done for him. They told us that he was a brilliant soldier but a disloyal one."

Bulma nodded as she listened to their story.

"If we do as we are told and live up to be as good as he was or better, we will one day help King Cold rule the universe now that his son is dead because of dad," Trunks added. "Is that true? Was he bad?"

"No, Trunks, he wasn't bad," she answered carefully.

"So then King Cold is bad?" Tarble asked.

Bulma sighed; this was getting complicated. "I can't answer that, boys; I can't. Not without getting myself into trouble. I suppose I could say yes, in a way King Cold is bad and so was his son but if you look at it from their point of view, I guess to them your father was bad for trying to free himself and his planet from them. It's really something you would have to talk with him about because until I met him, I had no idea that King Cold or his son Frieza ever existed. There's a whole lot of history there that I don't know."

"But dad didn't want us here, did he?" Trunks asked.

"No, he didn't," she answered. "Us being here was the last thing he ever wanted."

"I thought so," Trunks nodded. "They told us that he gave us to them."

"Ya and that we had to make up for him and if we don't they will make sure he dies. That's what King Cold said," Tarble added. "That he was supposed to be executed but then they decided he had to stay here. We knew you were here too but we don't know why, just that you are supposed to be a genius or something."

"Oh, my," she sighed, wondering how to make this more simple to them. "Alright, no, you weren't _given_ to King Cold by your father and I. We were taken before your father's home planet was destroyed. Your father came here trying to stop King Cold from destroying his home and it didn't go according to his plan. When he fell, he told me to leave with you both. My parents live on another planet, he wanted me to go to them where it was safe. Your father arranged everything and I… I took too long getting everything together and was caught and taken and sent here while your father was put on trial against his actions against the Cold Empire.

"He was sentenced to death but then the doctor who runs this lab asked to be able to study him instead and I was sent here to assist. I must or they threatened to have the two of you and your father hurt so here we are."

The boys sat there for a moment absorbing everything in. "I believe that," Tarble said.

"Ya, me too," Trunks nodded. "I always knew they weren't telling us the whole story."

"Oh, I was going to ask you," Tarble started, pausing a moment before going on. Bulma nodded at him. "What did you do on your planet before you worked at that place and met dad? They don't tell us much about you, but they do say you are a genius."

Bulma smiled at him; this was better and a much safer topic of discussion that she was much more comfortable discussing with them. "I was a technological scientist, kind of like I am here. My father and I were the smartest people on our planet and we both designed and built small homes, ships and weapons until we were both taken and our planet destroyed. In fact, some of the things my father and I invented were the reason your father even took an interest in me to begin with."

"Really? Like what?" the boys asked.

"Well," she said mischievously, debating on whether or not to show them capsulation or not. _What the hell_ , she thought to herself, getting up from where she was sitting and reaching into her pouch of capsules. It couldn't be that much of a secret since Gero had her practically mass producing them since she had arrived. "Alright. This is a capsule. It was originally created by my father, or _your_ grandfather many years ago. It was such a success that he made his millions off of it and later on I improved it somewhat and after that we were a team." She said proudly.

"Watch closely," she instructed, holding up the capsule to show them before tossing it on the ground and out popped her luggage and suit cases.

"Whoa!" Both boys exclaimed.

"Neat, huh?" She chuckled. "You can put almost anything in them so they are great for storing large items or large quantities of multiple items." Bulma explained as she recapsulated her things.

"So that's why you're here?" Tarble asked.

"Partially, yes," she nodded. "King Cold wants me to work for him and help develop a few things. It's not where I want to be, but it keeps me near Vegeta and I can see him so that's why I stay."

The boys nodded in understanding. "That's not what they told us," Trunks said. "But I believe you."

Bulma smiled. "I'm glad,"

"We should head back, Trunks," Tarble said suddenly. "We've been gone a while."

"Yea, you're right," Trunks agreed, standing up. "We'll come back tomorrow some time, okay?"

"For sure," Bulma nodded. "Just don't get yourselves in to any trouble, alright? I'd rather you not come then get into trouble for coming; and that's not because I don't want to see you guys. Just keep in mind, I'll always be more upset with you if you get into trouble because you came here than if you can't come see me at all for some reason. Don't let them convince you of otherwise either, alright?"

"Yes," both boys nodded.

"If Dad wakes up can you tell him we were here?" Trunks asked.

"I sure will," she said, giving them both a quick hug before they finally left. Despite everything that had happened that day, she couldn't help but smile to herself as she stood there in the silence of her room. She'd met the boys again and had actually visited with them. They weren't quite as she had expected being that they had grown up so quickly, but she could tell that they were nice boys, overall fairly well-mannered and really good natured despite their upbringing. She only hoped they would stay that way and that maybe her influence on them would counteract any negative influences from Jeyice and any of Cold's other soldiers they had to train with.

Turning off the lights, she headed back to bed in an attempt to go to sleep. She lay there for a few moments before her happiness wore off and she was reminded once again of what had happened before the boys had shown up. What a nice distraction, albeit brief, that had been.

After several minutes she couldn't stand it anymore, she had to get out of her room.

Bulma dressed and threw on a lab coat and exited her room, heading back into the lab. She would work until she passed out. That always did the trick.

There were several projects Gero had on the go that he demanded her assistance on. She chose one and decided to get to work on it, placing her work on the table just in front of the regeneration tank where Vegeta was still recovering.

She glanced briefly at him and was nearly overwhelmed to tears again in her guilt over allowing Jeyice to have her that evening. _**How will I even be able to face you once you wake up?**_ She asked herself yet again as she looked away from him and began working on her project. She could not let this destroy her and she could not let Vegeta know about it. She had no idea how he would take it.

Her stomach began to churn and she turned from him again, unable to even look at him without feeling like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole before he got out. No matter how many times she told herself that it wasn't her fault and that she didn't have much of a choice, she still felt he wouldn't be able to understand or see past it. _**What if he wants nothing to do with me when he finds out?**_ She asked herself in panic. _**Will he ever be able to forgive me?**_

She shook her head and forced herself to start working on her project and stop dwelling on everything else. Funnily enough that was always what she did when she was faced with a problem or an issue; she'd work herself to the bone until she either forgot about it, or solved the problem. She knew there wasn't anything she could do to fix or resolve this but maybe she could forget it had even happened for the time being.

-0-0-0-

Vegeta opened his eyes, the hazy fog of the sedative still heavily affecting him, trying to drag him back into the blissful sweet state of oblivious unconsciousness. Something had been drawing him though, trying to pull him out of that state. It was familiar but full of distress and anguish mixed together. It had taken him a while to climb to the surface of consciousness, but he had.

The first thing he saw once his eyes focused was Bulma. She was working on something at a table just across from the regeneration tank; his vision was clouded, but he could still see her clearly enough.

She was frowning in deep concentration at whatever it was she was doing and as he silently watched her work he could tell from her body language that she was purposefully working hard on her project in order to keep her mind busy and distracted from other things.

The tension in her neck and shoulders, the knitted eyebrows and the way the corners of her mouth turned down all betrayed her otherwise calm, studious, outward appearance. Anyone else who observed her would assume she was completely absorbed in her work… To anyone else. To Vegeta, her body language said her mind was miles away from this place and what she was doing. To him she looked sad, tired and defeated but she was trying her hardest to not have it show and it hurt him to his core to see her like that and know that there was nothing he could do to help her or even comfort her.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to be able to take her in his arms and go someplace far from all of this. Someplace where they could lose themselves in one another, forgetting about this hell they'd been sent to. What had he been thinking back on Vegeta-sei? She had made so much of an effort to spend time with him, for them to spend time _together_ as a family and he had put her and Trunks on the backburner. His training and trying to make sure his men were ready for battle had been more important for some reason; and what for? If he could go back and do it all again, he would spend as much time with them as possible. None of the training and conditioning he had done had made a difference anyway.

She had warned him of that even and he had been too prideful and stubborn to listen to her. She had been so afraid that something would go wrong and they would be separated or worse; how right she had been in her instance on spending time together and he had carelessly rebuffed her and sloughed off her worries as those of an overly emotional female and nothing more.

He had always thought that she was too good to be true; that he was living some sort of dream with her. His life before her had been full of violence, disappointment and rage. So many horrible things he had done in his youth under Frieza's command and he had still been blessed to somehow cross paths with her when he had.

Maybe it had been a test?

A test from the gods to see if he had the integrity to walk away from something so perfect laid in front of him. If such was the case, he had failed miserably. If it was a test he had failed for taking her as his own because he had fallen so impossibly for her instead of walking away, maybe this was his punishment. The gods had cruelly given him two years, two nearly blissful years with her in his life where she had been his, and he had been hers completely and irrecoverably.

He had stupidly allowed himself to fall into a false sense of happiness and contentment with his woman and son and when he was sure he had nearly everything he could ever want for the rest of his days, that was when everything had come crashing down around him, slowly and cruelly ripping everything he had held dear apart right in front of him, reminding him that he wasn't allowed to have anything or anyone because of his past crimes.

It apparently did not matter that he had done those things in the name of a tyrant or under the command of a twisted ruler or that he had reformed. The woman had been like a lifeline, rescuing him and bringing him in before he had irreparably damaged any hope of a life other than madness and destruction. She had been dropped in front of him before he had passed the point of no return where salvation and redemption were concerned. She had saved him from becoming the monster that Lord Frieza and his father had shaped since he was a young boy.

He had grabbed onto her and had held onto her for dear life, foolishly thinking that the gods had placed her in front of him as a salvation where instead he saw it now for what it really was: A test to walk away from. A test of his integrity. He wasn't meant to have someone or something so pure and precious. He should have turned away and shunned it. Instead he had not been able to resist and he had been fooled and now he had dragged her down with him. The gods mocked him.

As he watched her and let the musings of his mind drag him into a further pit of despair and desolation, he succumbed once more to the blissful state of unconsciousness…

-0-0-0-

A week had passed since Gero's attempt at opening Vegeta up had failed; he was still in the regeneration tank and Bulma was beginning to worry that he may never fully recover. It had also been a week since Jeyice had left. True to his word, the boys were allowed to come to the lab to visit Bulma once a day after their training. They usually showed up in the late afternoon or early evening and were able to stay for a few hours.

They continued on with the game of asking questions back and forth and learning about each other that way. Bulma loved it; it kept things light and kept her from getting too emotional around them. Honestly, their presence each day was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. She looked forward to their visits each day and began thinking up ways to slowly start planning a method of escape with them.

It wasn't going to be easy, but with their help and her careful planning, maybe it would be doable. She had begun carefully considering and weighing their options out, preparing the groundwork for a possible escape while she worked on one of Gero's projects. He had been more irritable and bad tempered than usual the last few days for reasons which she couldn't figure out.

_**Bulma,**_ she heard Vegeta's voice whispering weakly through her mind.

"Vegeta," she replied, dropping what she was doing and walking up to the tank where he was still floating in the green liquid, awake and looking at her, but he still looked groggy. Her heart leapt as she made eye contact with him and smiled her best smile in an effort to give him some encouragement. It faltered somewhat and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the look of desolation and anguish in his eyes and knew her eyes reflected the exact same look no matter how bright her smile. She put her hand on the glass and offered him another small smile. _**Are you alright?**_

_**Hmmn,**_ he replied, placing his hand on the other side of the glass opposite hers. Her bright smile should have been like a breath of fresh air to him but as he looked at her, he noticed her smile didn't reach her eyes. As always, it was her eyes that betrayed her true feelings. He looked at her, wishing he could fix this. _**What happened? Did I-?**_

_**Yea,**_ she nodded once. _**You died, again; technically anyway. I didn't know what to do, I.. The pain and grief I was hit with even knowing it was what you wanted. I shut down, I was useless. I couldn't help you, I couldn't help or prevent Gero from bringing you back. I couldn't think or do anything.**_

He didn't say anything, just looked at her and noted how ragged and worn she looked.

_**I um, I saw Trunks,**_ she said, uncomfortable with the thorough look of assessment he was giving her and wanting to change the subject. _**And Tarble.**_

_**How are they?** _

_**Okay, I guess,**_ she shrugged.

_**What is it?**_ He asked, not liking the look on her face.

_**Nothing, they, they're... they have matured, I guess,**_ she replied, still trying to wrap her brain around the logistics of how her ten month old son was now eight years old. _**Apparently they have been training them in some kind of time chamber that ages them? So they are a lot bigger and older than what they should be.**_

_**One day to us amounts to a full year to them while inside,**_ he said.

_**Oh, you know about this thing?** _

_**I do,**_ he nodded once. _**It is a very effective way to train for a battle if you are pressed for time or if you have young warriors such as the boys, and you wish to advance them a bit quicker. I myself was made to use it during my time as Frieza's soldier.**_

_**What?**_ She exclaimed in shock. _**How many times? Wait, how old are you then?**_

He thought for a moment. _**Three times,**_ he replied.

_**So how old are you really then?**_ She asked with a slight frown. _**Are you 22 or are you 25 years old? No wait, you could be 19 too if you don't count the three years.**_

He smirked at her. _**I am 22 standard years from my actual date of birth but technically I am 25 years old if I was to take into account my three years total spent in a hyperbolic time chamber. I do not count those years.**_

_**Why not?** _

_**Why age myself unnecessarily?**_ He asked dryly.

_**Interesting,**_ she thought. _**I can live with that. Though I always thought that you were too mature for your age.**_

_**I was always mature for my age,**_ he countered somewhat playfully. _**Now tell me of Trunks. How old are they?**_

_**Well, they have spent 2 days once a month in there training since they got here so they're both eight years old.** _

Vegeta nodded, taking that in for a moment, angry that he had missed the opportunity to see his son. _**They are alright?**_

_**I think so,**_ she shrugged. _**For the most part.**_

_**Do you know who is training them?** _

_**Jeyice,**_ she answered, trying to keep her feelings of hatred towards that man to herself. _**Or he's the one that they train with in that chamber and the majority of the time when he isn't sent out on missions. I don't know who they train with then.**_

_**Hmmmn,**_ he growled mentally and she assumed he wasn't overly pleased.

_**Trunks is strong,**_ she told him. _**Tarble not so much from what I gather. Oh, Vegeta, you'd love them both! They're nice boys despite everything. They don't hate us even though they have been told nothing but lies about us, I don't know how they don't hate us, but they don't. I wish you could see them both! Trunks reminds me so much of you! Tarble too, though that isn't all that surprising. He looks just like you did as a little boy.**_

_**How was it that you were able to see them?**_ He asked.

_**I saw them because, oh god, Vegeta I don't know how to tell you; Cold gave Trunks a beating because he is hiding his true potential away from everyone to protect Tarble, who apparently isn't progressing anywhere near as quickly. There were no regeneration tanks because of the mess in the barracks, so Jeyice brought Trunks here to recover in the other tank here. I didn't really get to talk to him much at the time, just Tarble.** _

She could see his jaw muscle jutting out rapidly despite the fact that he had on oxygen mask on and the vein in this temple throbbed in rage at the thought that his son had endured such a thing. He himself had been nine years old when he had been sent to serve Lord Frieza and had endured his first of many beatings for various reasons or another.

_**How bad?**_ He asked finally.

_**It was pretty bad, I think,**_ she replied, now wishing she hadn't told him. _**He was unconscious and was in the tank for about forty five minutes. I didn't get to say much to him because Jeyice came and took them away again almost immediately. I did converse with Tarble while Trunks was healing so that was good. Trunks remembers us.**_

_**Of course he would,**_ Vegeta said, still trying to swallow back the feeling of rage and helplessness at his inability to protect his family. In that moment, he felt something he hadn't felt in months; not since he had been taken captive here. It was a flicker, like a small spark trying to build into a small flame and something more beyond that. As soon as he attempted to touch it to manifest it, it was gone. Just like that. Instead of feeling discouraged at its sudden disappearance, however, he took heart in it and was glad he hadn't died this time. This just reminded him that he needed to hang in there and stick this out for them. _**Can you see them again? Is there a way?**_

Bulma looked at him and noted the determined look in his eyes. _**I have been able to, yes,**_ she started cautiously.

_**If Trunks remembers you, this is to our advantage. You can get them to help you plan a way out. It will take some time but they will know how to get around and the best way out,**_ he said. _**Then all you will need to do is bide your time, take the boys and go. You said before that you have the ship I prepared for you?**_

_**I've got it capsulated and well hidden away, yes,**_ she nodded.

_**Good.**_ He said.

She looked at him a long moment. _**I'm working on it, Vegeta,**_ she shook her head to herself.

_**What is it?**_ He asked, her hesitancy and overall demeanor starting to scare him as red flags flew up in the back of his mind, warning him that something was _very_ wrong. _**What the hell happened while I have been in here?**_

Bulma looked at him a long moment, debating about telling him or not. It had been her plan to keep this to herself for as long as possible but what was the point? She couldn't keep this from him. He would figure it out on his own the moment he got out of there anyway and if he didn't she didn't want to risk Jeyice coming back and taunting him with it; that was no way for him to find out.

_**Bulma, what happened?**_ He pressed her again, this time almost frantically. The longer she was silent the more afraid he became that something truly horrible had happened in his absence. He had already suspected as much, but now he knew it absolutely.

_**Oh, Vegeta, I… Jeyice,**_ she started quietly, trying to keep her composure as a wave of nausea hit her again. She covered her mouth with her hand a moment before attempting to try again. _**He, he propositioned me a while back, offering to let me see the boys on a regular basis if I would have sex with him.**_

_**What!**_ He exclaimed in disgust.

She nodded, looking away from him in shame.

_**You didn't…?**_ He asked quietly in anguish as he looked at her, _really_ looked and reached out to her through the bond they shared. He knew he already had the answer as he looked at her and his heart broke. _**No,**_ he said as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. _ **No, no, no, no...**_

She opened her eyes and nodded silently at him, wiping away tears, unable to form words or a coherent thought.

Vegeta felt as though he had been punched in the gut and the wind had been knocked out of him as he struggled to breathe despite still wearing an oxygen mask. The thought that someone else had touched her. That someone else had...

_**I didn't have a choice, Vegeta,**_ she said softly, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye. _ **It was either go along and willingly let it happen and he would grant me permission to see the boys, or take me by force anyway and I not be able to see them at all. What was I supposed to do?**_

He felt numb and broken all at the same time and had no idea how to react to this. He was angry, that much he was certain of. Once again, he felt that small flicker from deep within him again and tried to harness it ever so carefully so it wouldn't elude him again; maybe it was his chance to break out of this tank and maybe grab Bulma and go; come back for the boys after he brought her some place safe. The thought that someone had touched her or taken her by force or even manipulated her into doing such a thing by the sound of it broke something dormant within him right then.

He tried to calm himself down enough to reach within himself and focus on that small flicker of ki he felt; he hadn't felt anything in months, and wondered if maybe his body had built up a resistance to the damned ki collar it had been on so long. Perhaps this recent turn of events hearing about Trunks being beat and Bulma having to… He couldn't even finish the thought in his grief and barely restrained fury.

As quickly as he had felt it, it was gone again and he snarled and punched his fist against the glass of the tank in frustration, causing Bulma to jump, mistaking his anger and frustration as directed at her and she began to cry, not trying to hold it in any longer.

This feeling of dormant suppressed power was very much reminiscent of back in the day when he was trying to unlock the elusive ability of Super Saiyan only this felt somewhat different. This was something stronger than that; he wasn't sure what it was, but he was certain it was something greater than what he had already achieved, he could _feel_ it in his bones and at the core of his very being.

If he could only just…

Vegeta calmed himself down somewhat, reaching within himself again, trying to tap into this new, unused source ever so carefully, and closing his eyes in an attempt to regather his thoughts. He _needed_ this. It was their only hope.

When it didn't return, he opened his eyes and looked at her through the glass and stretched out his mind, touching hers with the bond. The feeling of guilt and self-loathing from her nearly sent him reeling and he knew without a doubt that if she had allowed something to take place, it hadn't been at all willingly; even if it was to have a connection with Trunks.

_**Did he hurt you?**_ He asked her in concern once he had calmed down somewhat to form a rational thought other than murderous rage.

Bulma shook her head. _**Not in the physical sense, no. But-**_ she looked down to the ground. _**I let him and didn't fight him so he wouldn't hurt me and he promised I could see the boys. So far he's made good on his end but…**_

Vegeta clenched his jaw again in helpless misery. He wasn't sure what was worse, that it had happened and she had passively allowed it or if he had taken her by force; either way, someone had touched, tainted and maimed what was his- not even that; it was _more_ than that, _so_ much more. Someone had preyed upon and desecrated his mate and that was not alright with him. _**When did this happen?**_

_**A week ago,**_ she answered, finally looking back up at him again. _**The same day you went in there. Jeyice is gone on a mission. It could be months until he returns though, if he returns at all.**_

_**Have you seen the boys since then?**_ He asked.

_**Yes. They are able to see me once a day. So far, that's not been an issue. I'm glad for it but sometimes question if it was worth it at all. Vegeta, I-** _

_**Do not apologize,**_ he said softly to her trying to convey as much comfort and solace to her through the bond as possible despite the nearly overpowering emotion of outrage threatening to take over everything else. While he wanted nothing more than to burn and destroy every living breathing piece of life on this damnable planet, he needed her to know that he was not angry with _her_. Instead of saying anything else in his inability to even know what to say to her and his inability to even know how to grieve over this new development, he simply looked at her, hoping to send her comfort and strength through their bond. It wasn't much, being that he couldn't physically touch or embrace her or tear Jeyice apart limb for limb, but it was the only thing he could offer her at the moment.

He wondered if it worked when she nodded and offered him a weak smile that still did not reach her eyes. _**How are you feeling?**_

_**Tired and angry, but not in pain,**_ he replied, still feeling the effects of the sedatives trying to pull him back into the calmness of sleep.

_**Well that's something at least I guess.** _

_**Never mind me,**_ he said softly, placing a hand on the glass again wishing he could actually reach out and physically touch her. His anger at the situation slowly being replaced by sadness that she had been put in such a position. _**Are you alright?**_

She nodded, fighting to keep herself composed in front of him. _**I'm fine,**_ she lied. She felt completely numb once again and for several minutes did not move or think or do anything. After several moments, she began to tremble again in her grief. She choked back a sob and shook her head at him. _**I am so sorry I… I betrayed you. I didn't mean it. I thought only about being able to see the boys and I thought you would be more upset if he'd actually hurt me. Now I don't know if I can live with myself. I shouldn't have let him… I should have-**_

_**Bulma,**_ she heard him softly in her mind.His heart shattered once again as he reached out to her through the bond and he was hit with an overwhelming tidal wave of remorse and devastation from her and he still could not think of anything to say to her or how to help her. For a long time neither one said or thought anymore words. There were no words to be said. Nothing could comfort either of them.

She looked at him and her breath caught in her throat at the empathetic look in his eyes and instead of making her feel better, it made her feel worse than if he had judged her and cast her aside. She could have collapsed from the feeling of pain, sorrow and understanding coming from him on her behalf and it made her love him even more than she thought possible.

_**I will get you out of here,**_ he said to her finally. _**You and the boys.**_

_**What about you?** _

_**I will try, but you and the boys need to get out of here.** _

_**Not without you.** _

_**Woman, this is nonnegotiable.** _

_**And me being able to go on without you isn't negotiable,**_ she replied weakly. _**I can't, Vegeta.**_

_**Yes, you can. Do not be weak! Not now.** _

_**Vegeta, I was just-!** _

He grit his teeth in blind fury as he was reminded of what had happened with Jeyice. _**I know.**_

_**I have been strong for too long. I just can't be anymore. I'm sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, but…** _

Once again, he tried to send her strength, as though it were possible to be passed the same way thoughts were through the bond.

Gero came into the lab suddenly and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Bulma who was crying and standing by the regeneration tank facing Vegeta. "What are you doing?" He demanded, walking up to her.

"Nothing," she snapped back, wiping her cheeks. "Vegeta just woke up."

"Hmmm," he grunted, shoving her away from the regeneration tank and looking at the status screen. "Why is he awake? Have you been tampering with this?"

"No!" Bulma answered. "I haven't done anything and I don't know why he's awake. Maybe because he's ready to come out?"

"You are aware that I have this system rigged, are you not?" Gero asked, content with the readings on the display, indicating that she had not tried to play with it to get Vegeta out. "Unless you know the pass code I have set for it, it will shut off. Life support, oxygen, every function keeping him alive will be cut off from him and he will drown."

Bulma rolled her eyes at him. "Why am I not surprised?"

"In any case, he should not be awake," Gero went on back to looking at the status readings on the screen. "He's not fully recovered. In fact according to these readings, he has only recovered about thirty percent of his strength."

"Well I've only said this at least a _thousand times_ since I've been here but if you take that fucking thing on his neck off, maybe then he could recover."

"While I agree, I cannot remove it," Gero said absentmindedly, playing with the settings. "As much as it would advance my findings and studies about his amazing anatomy and functions, I cannot take the chance that he would not beak free and murder us all."

Bulma sighed. It was true, Vegeta would do _exactly_ that. "Well, I'm no expert, but you do realize that you're killing him slowly with it on, right?"

"How do you mean?" he asked, looking up suddenly from the status panel on the regeneration tank.

"Think about it," Bulma rolled her eyes at him. "Ki is such a fundamental part of his genetic makeup. He needs it to fly and relies on it to achieve his incredible strength and abilities. Without it, as you should have noticed by now, he's just ordinary."

_**I am far from ordinary, woman!**_ Vegeta bellowed in her mind in offence.

_**Yes, I know that, Vegeta but he doesn't!**_ She replied. _**Maybe I can talk him into removing it or at least shutting it off.**_

"Hmmm," Gero hummed in consideration. "A very valid argument, but unless I can figure out a reliable method of containment for him, I am afraid I must leave things as they are. Nice try though, I sometimes forget how clever you actually are."

_**Damit!**_ She cursed mentally, trying to think of something, anything that she could use to convince Gero that they needed to shut that damned collar off. So far this was the _umpteenth_ time she had brought it up and he never wavered on it. Even when she would threaten him that he would never be able to complete whatever master mission he had for his reason behind these experiments. She was beginning to think there was no reason to them. They were just to amuse the madman.

Bulma was about to bring up another point of persuasion on the matter when King Cold himself waltzed into the lab.

"How nice to see the both of you working so diligently this afternoon," he greeted coolly.

"My lord," Gero bowed in respect. "How nice of you to pay us a visit!"

Bulma shot a glance at Vegeta before taking a seat at the table just a few feet away from the regeneration tank. She had a feeling being seated was probably a good option for the moment.

"So he's still alive, I see," King Cold snorted in amusement, walking up to the regeneration tank and looking at Vegeta as though he were nothing more than a spectacle.

Vegeta felt his stomach drop at the sight of King Cold's presence. Today just seemed to be getting better and better for him, didn't it? He found himself torn between being glad that he was awake and wishing he was still knocked out.

"How long has he been in here for?" King Cold asked casually.

"A week." Bulma answered quietly.

"A week!" Cold exclaimed, looking at the status readings. "My goodness, Gero! What the hell have you done to him that after a week he is only at thirty percent recovery?"

"Everything," Bulma replied bitterly.

"You shut up! Nobody asked you!" Gero snapped at her. "I have been studying everything I can on him from his anatomy and physiology so naturally, he's been through quite a bit."

"I see," Cold commented and Bulma wasn't sure but she thought she may have detected the smallest hint of sympathy. "While I am glad he is keeping you sufficiently amused, I want you to take a break from your passion project for a while and focus your talents and my resources on something more pressing."

"I'm afraid I am going to have to respectfully decline and ask that you pass the project along to the woman. She is more than capable of taking on any projects that you may have." Gero replied dismissively.

"While that may be the case, I do not trust her and I still want you to oversee the project." Cold said firmly and in a tone that said it was not up for debate.

"Very well," Gero sighed in annoyance. "What would you have us do?"

"I need for you to design for me a cloaking device for all of our ships _and_ the androids. I am planning a hostile takeover on another quadrant of the universe that has been in an uproar since my son's passing. There are several districts attempting to take his place and that most certainly will not do." Cold said, still looking at the status screen on Vegeta's regeneration tank.

"It would seem that my son's untimely execution combined with the destruction of the entire Saiyan Empire has caused somewhat of an uproar," he elaborated. "The planets that your father kept in check seem to be trying to pick up the scattered bits of your fathers territory from his quadrant and there are others warring with them over who gets the little seemingly useless but beneficial trade and goods planets who cannot defend themselves. I will not elaborate, but it has become something of a headache and I must do something soon to exert my authority and remind everyone that the Ice-jin are the _true_ rulers of this galaxy. Frieza was so good at inspiring loyalty out of fear that this was never a problem.

"Especially with Saiyan muscle around to settle the odd issue here and there and keep things in line; no one dared cross your father and his people. Such a shame that our collaboration came to such a brutal end, Vegeta. It was fruitful for the most part until you came along and destroyed all that," Cold said, directing his tirade towards Vegeta despite the fact that he more than likely could not hear him.

Vegeta was still coming off of the sedatives and so while he could only hear Cold's speech if he concentrated on the bond and heard it through Bulma, he was still impaired enough that he was only able to fully comprehend a little more than half of what the Ice-jin King was saying.

_**Civil war has broken out in different parts of the galaxy,**_ Bulma filled him in quickly as Cold ranted on and on about specific planets and races of which she had never even heard of. _**Frieza's death and the destruction of Vegeta-sei has left everyone your father had alliances with scrambling to either find protection or some of them are trying to rise up and take over.**_

_**Of course,**_ Vegeta scoffed. _**Cold is an idiot. He has no clue the influence my father had throughout. He had allies and agreements throughout the galaxy beyond our empire that were hidden from Frieza and Cold. My father may have stupidly kept up his alliance with the Ice-jin, but he was not a complete idiot. He had other prosperous dealings with many other planets and kept it hidden.**_

_**Do you think there's a chance any of these allies may come here because of Cold destroying Vegeta-sei?** _

_**Doubtful.**_ Vegeta scoffed again bitterly.

_**Why do you say that? Surely there would have been some sort of contingency plan for all of them that should something happen to one, all the rest would go after the trouble maker.** _

_**There was, but aside from the Ice-jin, the Saiyan race was second in the universe. No one in the right mind will come here and wage war against King Cold just to avenge us. Not even those planets of which we had good relations with.** _

_**No one in the right mind but you, huh?** _

_**Shut up,**_ he deadpanned. _**Besides, news of my failure and Vegeta-sei's destruction will have reached even the most back water planets by now. Anyone whom we had been aligned with will assume we are all but wiped out completely. Why put yourself and your planet at risk to go after a dead race?**_

_**But what if they knew you were here?**_ Bulma asked, an idea striking her right then. _**What if word got out that you are alive and being tortured by Cold?**_

_**So what?**_ He replied dejectedly. _**I am the prince of a dead race. I do not even have a planet to reside on, no soldiers to command or people to rule over anymore.**_

_**But you said your father had positive relations out there!**_ She insisted. _**You said in the few years after you got out of Frieza's service and before we met that your father had sent you out in his place on most of the diplomatic missions in his stead.**_

_**Not all were diplomatic,**_ he chuckled. _**Some were purges under Frieza's or my father's orders.**_

_**Alright, fine, but the ones that were, you've told me time and again that you began your own campaign with these people to support you when it was your time to rule; that you had wanted the empire to be something so much greater than what your father had built it up to be. You wanted to be respected, not feared and that you had slowly, unbeknownst to your father, been making that known while on your missions so that when you came to power, your alliances would be stronger and even greater than they had been with your father. Surely you could call upon some of those now, couldn't you?** _

_**Yes, I did all of that, but who cares now. I went up against Cold to do the impossible out of arrogance; an arrogance that my father fed and encouraged either knowingly or not that I would fail. At this point it does not matter, the bastard is dead and I am nothing more than the laughing stock of the entire galaxy for thinking that I could rid the universe of the scourge that is the Ice-jin race.**_ He ranted bitterly. _**Even if anyone were to discover that I am here, no one would take the effort to avenge me or my father or my race. They are too afraid.**_

_**Well give me some names, Vegeta. Give me names of planets and their leaders or advisors. Maybe I can send out a message somehow to let them know you're here. So they don't know me, but that shouldn't matter if they have word that you're being held hostage here.** _

_**It does not matter, Bulma. Just leave it. They will not come.** _

_**What about Raditz and Asia?**_ She asked desperately, annoyed that he was completely shutting her down on this. Sure, he may be right, but she still had to at least _try_. This was the first good idea she had come up with, or small chance of _hope_ she had been able to come up with since she had come here. She was determined to run with it either with or without his enthusiasm. She had no idea how she would be able to leave the confines of the lab to contact anyone, but it was _something_ at least in the last four months of dead end ideas she had thought of up to this point. Now that she had the boys though, maybe it was possible to get them to contact someone on their behalf.

_**What about Asia and Raditz?**_ He asked.

_**You said they went to Callisto.** _

_**I told them to go there, who knows if they actually did or not; for all I know they went back to Vegeta-sei and perished along with everyone else.** _

_**But there's still a chance. Can I somehow contact them and tell them that we are here? Asia would do something if for no other reason that her son is here and she would come for him, I know she would.** _

_**Maybe, but if I failed with one hundred of the best our military had to offer, how the hell do you think Asia and Raditz would succeed?** _

_**Because Asia was the queen!**_ Bulma mentally screeched at him in her desperation. _**She would have contacts and the rapport, I would assume, to maybe pull some strings here!**_

_**For a whopping three Saiyans, Bulma. Three Saiyans, a child, and a half-breed.** _

_**But what if she was able to put together an army, Vegeta!**_ She cried. _**She could rally all of your father's allies on your behalf! Maybe they would take that chance if they knew it was you they were coming for! It's a slim chance, I agree, but still a chance all the same!**_

_**Woman, what you are suggesting would take months, maybe even years for her to accomplish, assuming you are able to contact her and on the assumption she could even manage to do such a thing. I hope to be either out of this shithole by then or dead if it turns into years.** _

"Are you even paying attention, Bulma?" Greo bellowed at her.

"I am, sorry," Bulma replied, turning her attention to Cold. "I'm very tired, you see. My apologies."

"Understood, but what are your thoughts on the matter?" Cold asked her, looking at Vegeta suspiciously.

"Of a cloaking device?" she asked. Truthfully, she hadn't been paying attention at all to their conversation.

"Exactly," Gero barked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, it is do able," she shrugged. "To a point. My father and I designed stealth bombers for our military and they were a success. I suppose I could find a way to replicate that. Just how _invisible_ do you want your ships to be?"

"As invisible as possible," Cold answered.

"I can create an external coating for them so that they would be untraceable on any ultrasound or radar frequency," she said. "But once they reached their destination they would be visible. I could apply the same exterior coat to the androids if you want, it would be simple, however the same principal would apply; once they arrive at their destination or confront their target, they will be seen."

"That is a start, I am impressed," Cold nodded favorably. "However I want it so that they can remain unseen if I wish for them to remain unseen."

Bulma paused a moment as she considered his request. "What you are asking me is out of my realm of expertise and for all I know, not even possible."

"As I said, what you have suggested is a start," Cold said again. "From what I hear, you are a genius. This is what I want and I expect you to find a way to accomplish it. I am sure that between Dr. Gero and yourself, the two of you should be able to come up with an appropriate solution."

"Yes, sir, I will do my best." Bulma nodded, feeling torn between excitement at the prospect of a brand new project and anxiety at the thought that what Cold was asking for was more than likely impossible.

"I know you will," he said, looking at Vegeta again.

"And what am I to do with _him_ in the meantime?" Gero asked in a clipped tone, not at all happy with having to divert his attention and energy to something else.

Cold looked at Vegeta with interest as he seemed to be deciding just that. Bulma held her breath, unsure what she was hoping for. So long as it was to Vegeta's advantage and would minimize his current suffering, she would be alright with it, she told herself.

"Leave him in there," Cold shrugged finally. "I am under the impression that you have other plans for him, do you not?"

"I still have much to learn," Gero nodded.

"Then leave him in there for the time being," Cold suggested. "It will give him time to fully recover so that when you do resume your work the result may be better. As well, it will keep the woman in line."

"Quite right," Gero nodded in agreement. "He will be alright in there for a prolonged period of time?"

"He will be fine," Cold assured him. "You can put him into a deep prolonged sedation until you are ready to use him again."

"You mean like a coma?" Bulma asked suddenly, being broken out of her inner thoughts.

"Precisely," Cold nodded.

"Is that going to be bad for him though?" She asked in mild panic. "Like are you sure he'll be able to come out of it?"

"He should," Cold shrugged. "If he doesn't, he will make for a lovely decorative trophy fixture," he chuckled. "Perhaps I may display him in my throne room as an example of what happens to disloyal traitors."

Bulma did not laugh at his joke, only looked at Vegeta as Gero and Cold laughed as though Cold had said the funniest thing ever.

_**They want to put you into a coma and leave you in there indefinitely while we work on a project for Cold,**_ she told him, torn on this decision. While it was good in the sense that Vegeta would get a much needed reprieve from Gero while she looked for a way out, what if the drugs put him into such a deep coma that he couldn't be brought back out of it?

_**Hmmm,**_ he replied. _**I need to recover and then get this collar off**_.

_**So far Gero has kept anything to do with you so restricted that I haven't been able to find a single thing about it. If I can I will see if I can shut it off remotely so while you heal you can get your ki back.** _

_**Yes,**_ he replied. _**If you can do that I will be able to get out of here. I am certain my strength, power and abilities have doubled if not triple since before I was captured.**_

_**Wow, you think?** _

_**No. I know,**_ he replied absolutely. _**The only thing in my way is this collar.**_

_**I guess with everything you've been through,**_ she said thoughtfully. _**I'll see what I can do to shut it off.**_

"That settles it, then." King Cold said. "He is to remain until further notice and you two will work on this for me."

"Yes, sir," Bulma nodded, frowning deeply, fighting back tears as she watched Gero program the tank to initiate the sedatives again.

"Any deviation from my plans from _either_ of you or any show of noncompliance from _you,_ " Cold threatened, pointing at Bulma specifically, "and it's Vegeta and your boys that will suffer the brunt of your foolishness."

Bulma simply nodded to show her understanding, unable to say anything more to Cold, nor did she want to even look at him. She walked up to the tank and lightly placed her hand on it. _**I love you,**_ she said Vegeta. _**I will find a way out of this for us, Vegeta. I promise.**_

_**Be safe,**_ he replied and she could tell already that the sedative was working.

_**Its better this way,**_ she said trying to sound optimistic. _**He will leave you alone now and you can fully recover from everything; you'll be as good as new. Just sleep until I figure this out.**_

_**Do not lose yourself,**_ he said looking at her so intensely it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. _**Do whatever it is you need to do to survive this and get yourself and our son out of here but do not lose yourself in the process.**_

"I won't." She replied out loud.

_**Love you… and Trunks...**_ Was his last thought before the sedation knocked him out completely.

_**We love you too, Vegeta.**_ She replied not knowing if he could hear her or not, but it made her feel better to say it to him nonetheless.

Bulma didn't say anything as the moments ticked by and she could even feel the shift in their connection, like he was leaving her. It didn't hurt like it had when he'd died on Gero's table or when he had been consciously trying to sever their bond way back when, but it did not feel comfortable.

It was different than the other times they had put him in there. She wasn't sure if it was because he was pretty much dead the other two times and so he being revived and sedated was almost a relief compared to him being dead.

This was going to be different than before. When he was in before he had been sedated but she could still just feel him on the outskirts of her mind. He may have been unresponsive but he was still there. This time they were putting him in a coma with the expectation that he would remain in this state for a prolonged period of time. He was as good as a vegetable.

As she felt him sink deeper and deeper into a drug induced coma, she began to feel more and more anxious the further he fell from consciousness until she could not feel him at all. It felt like a void. Like something crucial was missing from herself.

Bulma placed her hand on the tank as she tried to gather herself and keep her emotions under control.

"I'm assuming I don't have to remind you that if you tamper with this in any way he will die." Gero's voice cut into her inner turmoil.

"No, you don't," she said quietly, still looking at Vegeta. _I'm alone,_ she thought to herself. _Truly and completely alone._ Despite her independent nature, the thought terrified her.


	29. Chapter 29

**_Chapter 29_ **

**_Warning: This chapter does contain a somewhat disturbing scene.. Not a rape scene but important to plot development to advance the direction of things concerning Jeyice. This will be the last scene between them for a while though. I promise.  I will throw in a disclaimer before it happens though for those who would rather avoid it..._ **

****

The weeks following the event of Cold’s commission for Bulma and Dr. Gero to work on King Cold’s cloaking device project seemed to pass by rather quickly and before long it had turned into months, much to Bulma’s surprise.

 

While she missed Vegeta terribly, she didn’t have to worry about him. He was safe for all intents and purposes. He was floating in the regeneration tank and looked so peaceful that there were moments where it brought her peace when she looked at him.

 

Bulma had taken to talking to him nearly every day as well. She had no idea whether he could hear her or not. If he could, he was unable to respond but it made her feel better to talk to him anyway almost as though keeping him informed of everything that was happening. It kept her sane and brought her a sense of peace and comfort.

 

She mostly told him stories about Trunks and Tarble. Things between her and the boys had been progressing fairly well. They continued to visit her on a daily basis without fail. By this point, they were beyond playing the back and forth games of questions and a gradual relationship was beginning to be built.

 

They were both so different she couldn’t get over it.

 

Trunks was more reserved and it took more of an effort to get him to open up, much to Bulma’s disappointment. He took more after his father at times and she felt mixed feelings about that. In some ways it was like having a little mini-Vegeta around and she found it amusing in some ways. In other ways, it broke her hear that he was so standoffish towards her; not that she could really blame him considering how they had grown up and who had raised them.

 

Tarble was a little more open and easier going. He didn’t seem to hang onto things and let them bother him for weeks at a time like Trunks did. Rather, if he had something to say, he’d just say it and move on.  If Trunks had something that was bothering him or that he wanted to ask her, it seemed to take him a few days to finally ask her. She preferred Tarble’s openness, however he was a lot less sure of himself and confident than Trunks was and that was something that bothered Bulma.

 

What she did like was that they weren’t competitive against each other. If anything, Trunks seemed to be more encouraging to Tarble than gloating about how much stronger than him he was. Most days anyway. There were some occasions when they came to see her and she could see that they were frustrated with each other. She wasn’t sure if it was simply normal sibling rivalry or if it was pressure from whoever they were training with now that Jeyice was gone.

 

Usually on days like that she distracted them with one of a few different games she had started playing with them and within an hour whatever had been bothering them seemed to disappear and things were good again.

 

**_I taught them to play chess,_** she told Vegeta that afternoon. **_We play for hours. It’s fun. They both are really good at it. I wanted to teach them to play that other game we used to play together. Do you remember, Vegeta?_** She smiled despite herself. **_I think some of my favourite memories are when we’d play all night until the sun came up. Remember that one time we started late afternoon and played all night and into the morning. We had to agree that a stalemate was the only option. I made us breakfast and then we started another game because you insisted that there had to be a winner. What was that game called?_**

 

**_I’d like to say Risk because it reminded me of that game from back home but I can’t remember what you called it. If I could, maybe the boys would be able to find it._ **

 

Bulma got up and placed her hand on the tank just in front of where his cheek was. She hoped so badly that he could still hear her and her stories about the boys. Even if he couldn’t reply, she hoped he could just hear her and it brought him both a sense of comfort and let him know that he hadn’t been forgotten about.

 

**_I hope that you are feeling alright. I miss you but I’m glad you’re not suffering. I still haven’t found a way to contact anyone off this place. I can’t leave the lab and the boys have no access to communication other than their scouters. I was trying to get them to leave me one to see if I can maybe reprogram it and work on finding a frequency off this planet but they have to sign them in and out. They would notice it missing._ **

 

**_Jeyice isn’t back,_** she said after a hesitant pause. **_He’s still alive though, unfortunately. He’s apparently out destroying whatever was left of your father’s empire. Cold is getting really paranoid as of late. It’s scary._**

 

**_I haven’t made much progress on his cloaking project. I he’s getting really impatient. Gero isn’t much help either so I’m kind of on my own on it. I did have an idea though. I started sketching something and drawing up plans during my downtime in my room. I’m not sure if I will be able to accomplish it being that I have both Gero and that android keeping close tabs on me. And I don’t know of its even possible. Maybe I’m going crazy._ **

 

Bulma looked at him expectantly, as though willing him to ask her what her project was. Of course, he didn’t. He just peacefully floated there in the green liquid as always, oblivious to everything. In a way, she envied him. “I miss you,” she said quietly to herself. **_I miss dad too. He would know how to help me on the stupid cloaking devices and my secret project. I wish I could talk to someone about it. I don’t even have a name for it yet because I don’t know what to call it._**

 

She heard steps coming towards the lab and turned her back on Vegeta, going back to her work station.

 

Dr. Gero came into the lab in a whirlwind fashion, cursing and mumbling to himself and chucking a cylindrical object across the room. Bulma started at the clang as it hit the ground and skidded across the floor, knocking over a stack of lab supplies.

 

“What are you staring at?” he snarled. “This is partly your fault!”

 

“My fault?” she snorted, turning to look at him. “I’m sorry, but last I checked, I was the only one coming up with ideas here. I don’t know what it is you do all day or even bring to the table here at this point. I work day and night here and what do you do? Nothing. Just sulk and pout and moan like a child who lost his favourite toy because Vegeta is no longer your play thing.”

 

“I am in no mood for your condescending tone!” he warned, pointing a finger at her. “What I do with my own time does not concern you. What should be concerning you is what Cold is going to do to you if you don’t come up with something he can use.”

 

Bulma sighed in annoyance. ”What he wants is impossible!” she objected. “Unless you have some magical wand buried up your old decrepit ass that will miraculously make things disappear, it’s not feasible!”

 

Gero glared at her. “Figure it out. I have my own work to do.”

 

Bulma shook her head at him. “So what was wrong with this?” she asked, leaving her work station to pick up the object Gero had thrown. It wasn’t able to render his troops or ships invisible, but it had a small generator that when activated allowed the one wearing it to jump ahead, phasing in and out. While not exactly what Cold asked for, Bulma had thought it to be quite ingenious.

 

It was an efficient way to cover long distances and if being pursued, the pursuer would have great difficulty keeping up and even tracking the person wearing it because it propelled the wearer forward so many feet and so quickly that there would be no footprints to follow or scent left behind. She had called it _instant_ _transmission_ because if you loaded the planets specs, you could instantly be taken to your point of interest. She had learned that much like Earth, there were capitals on every planet. If you set a specific point of interest into it, it would take you almost instantly to that place. So long as it was on that planet and programmed into the GPS. She hadn’t tested it out of course, but she was certain you could effectively travel from one side of the planet to the other in the matter of only a few seconds or minutes rather than hours or days in the case of large planets.

“It isn’t what he asked for!”

 

“Well, like I said, what he’s asking for is not realistic or even possible and this is the best I can come up with,” she sighed, looking at the broken piece of equipment. “Not sure how it can get any more discreet than that when you can get from point A to point B in mere seconds.”

 

“Your opinion isn’t wanted, only results. Now stop your daydreaming and get working,” he ordered her. “Dismantle and throw out that useless piece of shit you designed and start working on something useful.”

 

Bulma glared at him. “Might be wise to take your own advice.”

 

“Do not test me, Bulma,” he snarled, walking up to her. “I may have respect for your brilliance but that does not give you warrant to disrespect me. I will tell Cold that you are not cooperating. Then what will you do? I’d hate to think about what Cold would do to one of your boys because of your noncompliance.”

 

She shrugged nonchalantly, feigning indifference. “Go ahead, tell him. Tell him whatever you want and then I will tell him how you haven’t lifted a finger on the advancement of this project.”

 

“He wouldn’t believe you.”

 

“Maybe not, but the surveillance tapes will prove that I am telling the truth because all you do is sit there pouring over your Vegeta files.”

 

“You do that and you will pretty much be signing Vegeta’s death warrant.” Gero shot back. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

 

She thought about it for a moment before responding. “In any other circumstances, you would be right but in this case, it would be a relief if Cold killed him. If his existence is limited to being a lab rat or a vegetable then death would be a welcomed reprieve.”

 

Gero continued to glare at her. “And you?” he asked finally. “Aren’t you worried about what will happen to you if he dies?”

 

“Don’t know,” she answered honestly with a shrug. “I’m fine right now. It isn’t easy because our connection has been pretty much blocked so the bond is almost non-existent. It hurts, but I’m working through it. I’m assuming that if he passes, I’ll be just fine.”

 

Gero nodded. While he couldn’t care less about Bulma and her wellbeing, he did not want anything coming between him and his research. “I will aid you,” he finally conceded, not wanting to risk Cold getting rid of Vegeta altogether. As it was, he was not happy with having to put his research on the back burner over this project of King Cold’s. So he spent his time analysing his data that he had already collected and making due with that.  “Give me your research notes. I will go through them and see if I can find something. You clean up that mess and get rid of that bucket of bolts you created.”

 

She nodded and slid her notes across the work station. “Everything is there.” She said.

 

Gero took them. “I am going to lunch. I will look through them and when I return we will commence.”

 

Bulma nodded in agreement and Gero left her alone again in the lab. She sighed as she picked up her discarded project. It was broken but not beyond repair. She had been really proud of it! As she picked up the broken pieces a thought struck her. Maybe Cold and Gero scrapping this idea of hers altogether was a blessing in disguise. She could salvage this and maybe make it work for her other _secret_ project.

 

With newly renewed enthusiasm, she carefully collected the pieces and set them all aside. She would still need to do some research and figure out how to calibrate the instant transmission to work a little bit differently. It would take a lot of work and she wasn’t sure her physics skills were as sharp as they used to be so it might take her a long time to work it out; that was if it was at all even possible. That was alright though, she told herself. She was up to the challenge.

 

She smiled as she capsulated everything and put it in her pocket. Tonight she would take a look at it and compare both sets of notes to see if it could work.

 

Confidently, she went back to Vegeta. **_I found a name for my project, Vegeta. It’s name is Hope._**

 

-0-0-0-

 

Bulma rushed to open her door, letting the boys in. It had been two weeks since she had regained her inspiration for her new project. She hadn’t made a ton of progress in the technical sense, but she had been more or less able to build the machine and so she was happy with that progress. She kept it secret from everyone, the boys and Dende included. The less who knew about it, the better. Until she came to the point at which she needed someone to look over her work, that was how she wanted it kept.

 

Today she had lost track of time, being so absorbed in her work, she had been in the middle of installing where the control panel would go when she’d heard the familiar knock at the door. She’d cursed to herself for losing track of time that much before quickly capsulizing everything and shoving it in her pocket and opening the door.

 

“Hey, guys!” she greeted them cheerfully as they walked into the room.

 

“Hi!” Tarble said, giving her a hug as Trunks walked in, not saying anything by way of greeting and she could tell that he was in one of his moods.

 

“How are my boys today?” she asked once Tarble let her go. “Did you guys go into that training chamber again?”

 

“No,” Tarble shook his head in confusion. “I think we are done with that; or at least we are until Jeyice comes back. Why?”

 

Her stomach dropped at the mention of Jeyice.  “Oh, you both look a bit taller today for some reason, that’s all.”

 

“Well we’ve both been super hungry the last few days,” Tarble said, standing up straight.

 

“Hmm, you guys must be going through a growth spurt,” she nodded in approval and smiling at Tarble. He looked so much like Vegeta that at times it was unnerving to her. “And what about you, Trunks, let me have a look at you.”

 

Trunks shrugged, but walked up to her, still not saying anything.

 

“You look taller too,” she observed, wanting to give him a hug as well, but he seemed to be keeping his distance from her. “How is everything?”

 

“Fine,” he answered, looking at her carefully. “How’s dad?”

 

Bulma nodded, trying not to show her disappointment at his withdrawn demeanour. “He’s good, well, the same. No change.”

 

Trunks shook his head and took a seat.

 

“Do you guys want anything?” she asked, changing the subject. For some reason it really bothered Trunks that Vegeta was still in the regeneration tank. She had explained to him many times that he was in there because King Cold ordered that he remain there so there wasn’t much that could be done and that he was at least safe and sound but it just seemed to anger him and so when it came up, she usually changed the subject towards something lighter.

 

“No,” Trunks said.

 

“I’ll have whatever,” Tarble said, following her into the small kitchen. “I got snacks too!” he announced proudly, pulling out a capsule from inside his armour.

 

“What did you bring?” Bulma asked with interest.

 

“Just a bunch of stuff I scrounged up from the cafeteria at dinner so we could have something for while we play games.” he said, tossing his capsule onto the counter top. Bulma had given them both several capsules of their own to have for whatever they wanted to use them for. She didn’t need anything yet, but she was hoping later on it would be a good way for her to get supplies and other things smuggled into the lab when she was further into her project and needed things that she didn’t have access to.

 

Bulma looked appreciatively at the variation of food Tarble had brought. It certainly looked better than anything Gero brought back for her for her meals, she thought in dismay. She had noticed that she had lost a bit of weight since she had arrived here because all of her meals seemed to consist mostly of oatmeal, soups, stews and a piece of bread. “Looks good!” she commented, grabbing a tray she had and letting Tarble arrange it all. “You sure you don’t want anything, Trunks?”

 

“I’m fine,” he replied. “I ate just before we came.”

 

“Yea, we both did, actually,” Tarble said. “I brought most of this for you because you said last time that you never tried some of this stuff so I brought you our favourites. Plus Trunks and I noticed that you’re kind of skinny.”

 

“Awe, aren’t you guys sweet, thank you!” she chuckled, the thought that they’d even thought of her warming her heart. While she never complained to them about anything regarding her living circumstances, it was nice that they’d thought of her.

 

Tarble and Bulma brought out the snacks, tea pot and a few plates and mugs for them all and set them in the living room space. “What do you guys want to do tonight?” she asked them, looking for her home made game board and pieces. She’d made chess and checkers for them.

 

“What do you want to play?” Tarble asked her.

 

“Why do we have to play another stupid game?” Trunks huffed sourly.

 

“Why not?” Tarble asked him pointedly.

 

“Because that’s _all_ we do?” he replied with a heavy sigh.

 

“Alright, Trunks,” Bulma nodded, leaving the game pieces where they were. “What do you want to do? We don’t have to play games.”

 

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, looking at her with a strange look that she couldn’t place. “I just don’t feel like playing games.”

 

“Why, because I beat you the last two times?” Tarble taunted. 

 

“No,” Trunks snorted. “I _let_ you win the last two times.”

 

“Nuh-uhh!” Tarble shook his head.

 

“Yea-huhh,” Trunks shot back. “You have to win at _something_ once in a while,”

 

Tarble scowled at Trunks, evidently hurt by that remark.

 

“Hey, be nice!” Bulma scolded Trunks. “It’s not his fault he may be a bit behind you in your training.”

 

“A _bit_?” Trunks laughed. “Umm, mom, he’s so far behind!”

 

“I am not!” Tarble sulked, crossing his arms and glared at the floor.

 

“Okay, okay,” Bulma interjected, sitting between them on the couch. The last time this subject had come up, it had ended up with them wrestling on the floor. “It’s alright. Just calm down, both of you, it’s not worth fighting over.”

 

Both boys sat there, glaring at the floor for a long moment.

 

“Let me tell you a story about your father and his best friend,” she said. “Vegeta was born strong and powerful and everyone had very high expectations of him; his father, his people, even Lord Frieza.

 

“He grew up with another Saiyan and they were so close that they were practically brothers just you two. They trained together, went on missions together, did everything together.”

 

“What was his name?” Tarble asked.

 

“Kakarott,” Bulma replied with a smile at the memory of the less serious Saiyan who had become such a good friend to her. “His name was Kakarott. He was strong, but not as strong as your father. He was considered average for a Saiyan, unlike your father who was born royalty and from elite status.

 

“While he was a lot taller and bigger, he was never quite at the same level as your father. But did your father make fun of him or make him feel bad? No. Never. Sure he sometimes taunted him to get a rise of him but he did so in a manner to encourage him to step up and be better. They sparred all the time, day and night, beating each other to a pulp in an effort to better each other.”

 

“We already do that,” Trunks deadpanned.

 

“I’m sure you do, but they did it to better themselves. Not to gloat or show the other who was better. If your father beat Kakarott until he was unconscious, it was because he knew that when his wounds healed, he would become stronger not out of a need to prove his superiority or make him feel bad for his weaknesses.” She explained, knowing that it wasn’t _entirely_ true but wanting to give them a different perspective so that they would work together and not against each other. She suspected that this competitive streak was being encouraged by their teachers and she didn’t like it. Though she wasn’t sure how much of it was their environment and how much of that was natural Saiyan trait.  Vegeta and Kakarott were extremely competitive with each other, but it was never like this. Neither of them ever seemed to resent the other, or not to her knowledge. It was more friendly competition they seemed to share in wanting to out best the other rather than what the boys seemed to be exhibiting here.

 

“They always helped and encouraged one another and one day Kakarott caught up with your father,” she continued, remembering now that Vegeta had told her that Kakarott had ascended as well. _Poor guy,_ she thought to herself. _He’d only wanted to help Vegeta and in the end that got him killed._ _I wonder where we’d all be if he hadn’t left with Vegeta? Maybe we’d have rescued him from this place and things would be good instead of how they are now._

 

“What happened when he caught up to him?” Trunks asked with interest.

 

“They went into a war together and it didn’t end well, but they worked together,” she answered, thinking she should have thought the story through better before starting because it wasn’t as encouraging as she had meant for it to be. “The androids killed him and they were all overwhelmed and outmatched. Your father was arrested and you know the rest. That wasn’t my point though, my point was that they helped and strengthened each other. They didn’t belittle each other, they were brothers and together were nearly unstoppable. In any other scenario, they would have been unstoppable, anyway,

 

“So Trunks, I want you to help your brother and Tarble, you need to listen to Trunks. You’ll catch up. It was years before Kakarott caught up to Vegeta, but he put in a lot of hard work and persistence and never gave up. You are brothers, you help each other out and you never leave the other behind. I don’t care what they teach you.” She said firmly.

 

Trunks nodded in agreement. “Sorry, Tarble,” he mumbled. “I didn’t let you win both those times.”

 

“I _knew_ it!” he smiled.

 

“You need to work hard, Tarble.” Bulma said to him. “It won’t be easy, but listen to Trunks. If you don’t catch up they will begin separating the two of you and that’s not good. You need each other.”

 

“I will,” he nodded with a serious look of determination on his face.

 

“Good,” Bulma smiled, feeling satisfied with her parenting choices. Truth be told, she loved them both dearly and didn’t want anything or anyone putting a wedge between them. “Now I’m going to eat one of these delicious looking treats you brought and Trunks, you get to decide what we are going to do this evening.”

 

-0-0-0-

 

Jeyice stepped off the ship and made his way eagerly towards King Cold’s throne room to debrief him on his successful mission. It had been a total of six months he had been gone, trying to complete King Cold’s request. It had been a lot more difficult than he had originally thought.

 

While there weren’t any Saiyans left remaining on the surrounding planets, there were many other races that had been beginning to set up shop on the abandoned Saiyan ruins. Some left at Jeyice’s command, and others stood their ground to fight over the left over spoils. In vain, in the end. Jeyice and his soldiers were easily able to wipe most of them out. It had been nothing more than a waste of his time, in his opinion.

 

Once eradicating anyone residing on these planets, Jeyice had petitioned Cold to leave a handful of them standing. King Vegeta may have been an arrogant king who pissed King Cold off, but the bastard had been very wise in the way he had set up these bases. Each one was able to hold enough infantry to defend itself until further assistance had arrived and the distance between the major bases were all spaced out equally so that if one was in trouble, it would not take long for help to arrive.

 

Jeyice destroyed the smaller planets in between; some seemed to be nothing more than storage planets for weapons and other things. Others were major bases. Those were the ones he had advised Cold not to destroy.

 

He advised him that it could be beneficial to leave these standing and occupy them for himself as a mid way base; a place to store soldiers and keep order. Isotope could be his main base, but it was at such a far corner of the galaxy, it would take far too long to dispatch soldiers and get anywhere if he needed to. If he had a second base, full of infantry, this would be a huge help.

 

To his credit, Cold agreed with him and left it to his discretion which bases to keep and which ones to destroy. Jeyice chose four in total; each one at the four furthest corners of the former Saiyan Empire’s quadrant. Each one was about a week or less travel in between, they were that wide spread, but Jeyice did not see that as a problem, especially if King Cold planned on populating these planets with these new Android soldiers. No one in the right mind would be able to destroy them all within a one week time span, he thought with an arrogant smirk.

 

Anything else in between, he destroyed. Content with his work, he headed back to King Cold’s base and now here he was.

 

“Very well done, Jeyice,” King Cold nodded appreciatively to him.

 

“Thank you, my lord,” Jeyice replied, bowing in respect.

 

“I am very impressed with your work and the decisions you made, you are becoming quite the officer.”

 

“Well, I do try, my Lord,”

 

“You have been nothing short of exemplary and I feel a promotion is in order,” he said proudly. “You are hereby promoted to General as of immediately. You will receive an upgrade to your salary and your living quarters. You will reside in the wing with the other generals and not the barracks which means you will have your own living space with all upgraded amenities.”

 

“You are too generous, my Lord!” Jeyice exclaimed. Years of busting his ass in Lord Frieza’s court had gone unnoticed thanks to brownnosers like Zarbon, Dodoria and Captain Ginyu. Now, after all these years, he was glad to have finally gotten some recognition that all his hard work and following orders had been worth it.

 

“You deserve it,” Cold said. “I already set the order in motion and it shall be available to you by weeks end. I must add that you will still be responsible to training the two Saiyan brats, however.”

 

“Right,” Jeyice nodded. “How has their progress been going?”

 

“Alright,” Cold shrugged. “Trunks is still the stronger of the two but I have heard that the other one has been exerting a better effort as of late. I will require you to give me a full assessment within the next few days of their progress. If they are ready, it is my wish for them to begin earning their keep around here. They will need to start going on missions and so will begin accompanying you. You are to train them on how to handle protocol.”

 

“Yes, my Lord,” Jeyice nodded. “I will see them tomorrow and give you my assessment and full impression.”

 

“Very good, you are dismissed.” King Cold said, waving his hand. “Go out and celebrate tonight. You have certainly earned it.”

 

“Thank you, my Lord.” Jeyice bowed respectfully before leaving Cold’s throne room. He knew exactly where he would be spending his evening _celebrating_ his new promotion and status.

 

Jeyice turned down the hall towards the barracks. A shower and decent meal was his first order of business and then he would pay Bulma a visit.  

 

-0-0-0-

 

“Why hello, kitten,” Jeyice drawled as he strode casually into the lab a few hours later. “How are you?”

 

Bulma felt the blood from her face drain and her stomach drop instantly at the mere sight of him.

 

“I can see Vegeta here is the same,” he commented casually, walking up to the regeneration tank and looking at him. “Has he been out at all, or is he still in?”

 

“Still in,” she replied quietly, trying to calm her nerves. She had been so sure that if Jeyice came back that she wouldn’t turn into a mess at the sight of him. She had been wrong. Seeing him brought her right back to the dread and anxiety she had felt that night after he had left her.

 

“Ah, pity,” he shrugged in false sympathy, leaning up against the tank and knocking on it obnoxiously. “However it is for the best I suppose, since you were so concerned about him the last time we saw each other.”

 

“Cold wants him kept in there indefinitely.”

 

“Perfect!” He nodded walking up to her. “So I can expect no objections now as we resume our little _arrangement_? I thought about you a lot while I was gone, you know.”

 

“You did, did you?” she sighed, trying to keep a calm composure.

 

“Oh yes,” he nodded, walking closer to her. “I thought of you an _awful_ lot.”

 

Bulma took a few steps back but he continued to close in on her, not taking the hint that she was trying to keep ample distance between them.

 

“You got to see your boys I assume?” he asked with a sly grin.

 

“Yes,” she nodded. 

 

“There were no issues with that?”

 

“None, thank you.”

 

Jeyice smirked at her. “There, see? I told you that I would make good on that,” he reached for her, pulling her close to him. “And I will continue to make good on that if you continue to put out like a good little woman.”

 

Bulma put her hands out and pushed against his chest in protest. “No, I can’t Jeyice, there must be some other way you, _we_ can agree-”

 

“No, the deal is the same, hun,” he interrupted her, ignoring her attempt to push him away. “I could not help but think while I was gone that I definitely got the shit end of the stick last time. I expect you to attempt to at least _pretend_ that you're having a good time an’ not just lay there while I do all the work. You do that and we can continue to have a very prosperous arrangement here for the _both_ of us.”

 

“If you need someone to pretend to like you, then why not go find a hooker or something,” she objected. “That’s _not_ what I am.”

 

Jeyice snorted in amusement as he took her hand and began urgently dragging her out of the lab. Bulma couldn't help but feel nothing but despair and anxiety closing in on her, making her feel so helpless and trapped, almost claustrophobic that it was difficult for her to breathe, never mind protest as he dragged her to her room. “I expect you to be into it this time.”

 

**_Warning: Adult content… Feel free to skip till the end of the chapter just to get the jest of it because it is somewhat important the way this turns out…_ **

 

He opened the door to her room and shut it and immediately his hands were roaming all over her, touching her and groping her greedily, without care. “You never know, you may actually like it if you were to give me an honest chance, love.”

 

Bulma grimaced to herself at the thought of possibly enjoying herself with him when the very thought of even touching him made her skin crawl. Once again, she knew she was faced with little choice here and she decided, she would close her eyes and try to pretend he was Vegeta. That was the only way she would manage to pull this off and even _pretend_ to enjoy him. “Turn the lights off,” she demanded quietly, resigned that this nightmare was going to happen again. At least if she couldn’t see him, maybe it would be somewhat bearable.

 

As he did that, she removed her clothes, put two of her fingers in her mouth and touched herself just in case she wasn't ready for him this time, which she was absolutely certain she wouldn’t be. 

 

She heard a rustle of clothing and assumed that he was doing the same and she sat on the side of her bed. Within seconds he was on her, encouraging her to lay down.

Bulma winced as he began to roughly feel up her body and once again she was reminded that he wasn't Vegeta, she thought in dismay. Unfortunately thinking and wishing he was wouldn't make that happen and because he was so rough with her, she couldn’t even pretend that he was Vegeta; even when Vegeta was rough with her in such times that there was a sense of urgency, he had always still managed to not cause her any real discomfort. It had been exciting, not unpleasant.

 

“Watch it,” she complained finally. 

 

He suddenly stopped what he was doing. “What?”

 

“Have you ever had a woman that actually _wanted_ to be with you?” she asked irritably, trying to push him away from her and sit up. 

 

“Yea, lots,” he snorted, not budging.

 

“Lots, huh,” she repeated in disbelief, covering her eyes with her hand as she gave up trying to sit because he was pinned on top of her. “Like women who _willingly_ came to you or because you _paid_ them?”

 

“Most of them I paid for and some were fortunate enough to have me before their lives were ended during a purge,” he replied proudly, tracing a finger along the top of her chest absent mindedly.

 

“Figures,” Bulma sighed.

 

“What does?”

 

“That paying for sex and raping women is all you know,” she said bitterly.

 

“What difference does it make?” He asked. “It's all the same.”

 

“No, it isn't and it's disgusting!”

 

“How's that?” he asked in offense, finally getting off of her to turn a light on at her bedside. “I've had many women and none have ever complained; none but you! I'm starting to wonder if Vegeta used you at all.”

 

“They didn't complain because either you paid them or killed them after you raped them,” Bulma said, not caring about her nasty tone at all. “And no, you're right; Vegeta didn't _use_ me. He-”

 

“Well, I'm going to remedy that,” he cut her off, coming back to the bed, grabbing her legs, roughly pulling her towards him and standing between her thighs as he stood at the side of her bed, ready to take her. 

 

“No! No, no, no, no!” she pleaded at him frantically, locking her knees together trying to stop him from going any further. “Wait! _Please!_ ”

 

“Now listen, you've put me off long enough!” he objected angrily. “Now shut up and take it or you will not be seeing your brats again _ever_!” He threatened, prying her knees apart.

 

“Don't you think it would be better if we _both_ enjoyed this?” She asked quickly, pushing on him with her foot.  “I'm not ready.”

 

“Like I bloody care!”

 

“Well, if you hold off and wait a little instead of plunging yourself into me like a mindless brute, I promise you'd enjoy yourself a lot more and I won't complain nearly as much,” she said frantically. “If you want me to at least pretend to enjoy myself with you, then stop acting like an asshole!”

 

Jeyice snarled at her in frustration, his erection throbbing by this point.

 

“Let me give you a little show, it will blow your mind; I can promise you that,” she said to him, placing her toes on his chest and successfully pushing him away from her this time. _And it will make this a little bit easier for me to endure_ , she added silently to herself.

 

“Pssh, fine,” he snorted in frustration, gripping himself in front of her to relieve himself somewhat. “Get on with it then.”

 

Silently thanking her lucky stars, she crawled back up to the middle of her bed, tossing her top onto the lamp beside her bed to dim the room somewhat so that she felt a bit less exposed but he could still see her well enough.

 

“Let me teach you something,” she said coyly, running a hand down between her legs and touching herself as she caressed a breast with her other hand. “There's a _big_ difference between a woman screaming out in pleasure and said woman screaming out because of pain or terror. I think you'll find it _much_ more satisfying for yourself to make a woman scream in the throes of passion rather than because you’re brutalizing her. Vegeta was an _expert_ in that department.” She told him, wanting to hopefully play on his competitive male ego side.

 

“Like Vegeta had a clue,” he snorted in doubt.

 

“Oh, he _did_ ,” she sighed wistfully, stroking herself lightly and spreading her legs just enough so he could finally see that she was actually touching herself. “Vegeta _always_ made me scream; and it was _never_ in pain, but _always_ in ecstasy. He could make me scream with just the most subtle touch of his fingers before he would put himself inside me. Sometimes even _twice_ before seeking out his own pleasure by claiming me fully. He would make sure I was more than satisfied and only _then_ would he fuck me senseless until I screamed his name out loud,” she explained, though she hated referring to her and Vegeta’s intimate details in such a vulgar fashion. However beginning to understand the mentality of the person in front of her, she figured that was the only language he would be able to comprehend.

 

“Bullshit!” he scoffed in disbelief, watching her hands intently as he slowly stroked himself.

 

“I bullshit you not,” she insisted, squeezing her breast and sighing as she spread her legs just a bit more so he had a full, unimpeded view of her stroking herself slowly. “You were partially right when you said Vegeta never _used_ my body; he didn't. He played it like a fine instrument. He knew every inch of my body and how use it to his advantage and increase his own pleasure.”

 

By this time Jeyice was completely fixated on what her hands were doing to herself. She brought the hand that had been on her breast up to her mouth and sucked on two of her fingers before touching herself and inserting one of them inside herself and brought the other hand that had been previously between her legs up to her breast and gently caressed it, moaning quietly, biting her bottom lip. 

 

_Pervert,_ she thought to herself, refraining from rolling her eyes at him as she heard him inhale sharply as he continued to almost absent mindedly jerk himself off slowly as he watched her, almost fascinated. While she felt dirty having him watch her as she touched herself, it was better than him taking her dry like he had the last time. 

 

She closed her eyes and threw her head back as she panted and let out an over exaggerated, breathy  moan for Jeyice's benefit as she inserted a second finger into herself and bucked her hips against her hand. She still wasn't ready and she knew she had to do something to make herself even a little bit aroused soon before he lost his patience and decided to plow into her.

 

Bulma thought of one time when she'd tormented Vegeta this way. He hadn't let her fly solo for long before he had to touch her himself. He hadn't been able to refrain even though it had been _his_ idea.

 

It had been soon after they'd been reunited on Callisto after him thinking her dead all that time. It had been such an amazing time the first few weeks they were together again as a newly married couple free of the stresses and troubles that had surrounded them previously. They had experimented with each other’s bodies almost endlessly in those few weeks of bliss before things had taken a turn for the worse again and Yamcha had abducted her. Before that they had both been nearly insatiable in their need for one another and she felt a flush of heat run through her now at the memory of it.  

 

She couldn't remember now how it had come about but she remembered Vegeta had asked her to touch herself for him. At first she had thought he had been joking and then she had been mortified at the thought of doing such a thing. He had given her his trademark smirk that she loved so much and told her again to touch herself the way she did when he wasn't around. She remembered that he had been floored when she confessed to him that she never did that before they'd been together nor after even when they had been separated for those eight, long months. 

 

In any case, she of course indulged him and shyly touched herself as he watched her with hungry eyes. 

 

She'd actually began enjoying herself, the knowledge that he was watching her heatedly giving her that extra oomph of confidence, she'd closed her eyes and focused her efforts on pleasuring herself when suddenly she'd felt an extra finger join hers, slowly penetrating her…

 

**_Bulma gasped as she felt him slide a finger into her along with her one finger._ **

****

**_“Show me how you like to be touched,” he said, his voice only an octave above a whisper._ **

****

**_“You already know,” she answered playfully._ **

****

**_“I still want you to show me,” he said, lying beside her, his hand still between her legs. “Guide me,”_ **

****

**_She nodded, lying beside him on her side, her back against his chest so they were spooning. She pulled his left arm under her so that now both his arms were around her._ **

****

**_She took his left hand in hers and caressed her left breast gently and guided his right hand towards her nether regions, stroking herself slowly with his hand._ **

****

**_As they went, she soon lost herself in the touch of his hands on her, pleasuring herself with his hands until she came…_ **

****

It had been the most erotic moment between them, up until that moment, and she treasured it. 

 

Even now, at the absolute lowest point in her life, she at least had these memories to look back on and while she hated to cheapen those cherished moments by using them now to help her, they made her appreciate Vegeta even more than she already had. She'd known for a long time how lucky she was to have been found by him. He could have been brutal like his father or he could have been selfish and clueless like Jeyice. 

 

She eventually lost herself, completely forgetting about Jeyice now. Her mind was miles away from there. All she thought of was Vegeta. His hands, his arms, his lips; his tail even when it would randomly brush up against her, inadvertently discovering some new erogenous zone. She felt another wave of pleasure washed through her as she thought about it. 

 

Jeyice watched in fascination as she continued to pleasure herself shamelessly now in front of him. While he didn't care if she got anything out of their little arrangement, he couldn’t help but stroke himself off with real purpose now as he watched her. He grunted as he felt his release approaching prematurely.

 

Bulma was brought out of her inner thoughts of a much simpler and pleasurable time between Vegeta and herself as she heard Jeyice moan. She looked at him and by the look on his face knew that it wouldn’t be long before he brought himself to climax.

 

Rejoicing inwardly at the thought that she may be able to get by without him touching her at all this time, she began to cry out as though she were reaching her own completion. She thrashed and moaned and panted and mewled as though she was having the best climax of her life all with the hopes that the visual of her doing so would push him over the edge.

 

It had the desired effect she had hoped for.

 

“Shit!” Jeyice cursed as his release happened. He bolted towards her as he erupted, his seed landing on her stomach as she kept up her little show for him. Inwardly, she was appalled that he had spilled himself all over her. It made her feel cheap and dirty _but_ it was better than the alternative and having to let him fuck her.

 

Jeyice gasped as he pumped his member and leaned over her, not touching her, but making eye contact with her as he finished. He remained there a moment in recovery before backing away from her.

 

Bulma laid there a moment, clenching her teeth and covering her eyes with her hand in shame that she had just done that in front of this _person_. When she opened her eyes, she couldn’t see him and wondered briefly where he’d gone.

 

He appeared a moment later from her washroom and carelessly tossed her a towel to wipe herself off, which she did immediately, trying to keep a straight face about it.

 

Jeyice stood there a moment watching her with a cool expression on his face. “I suppose you think you’re quite clever, don’t you?”

 

Bulma shrugged at the question, concentrating on wiping his mess off of her and avoiding eye contact with him altogether.

 

“You were right though,” he nodded.

 

“About what?”

 

“That little show you put on,” he clarified. “It _was_ bloody brilliant, I must admit.”

 

Bulma just nodded as she finished wiping herself off and sat up, immediately reaching for her blanket to cover herself up and praying to god that he wouldn’t want to continue things. She was more than aroused now and the last thing she wanted was for him to take her now and possibly enjoy herself. She couldn’t win here, she felt! She didn’t want to be raped, but she didn’t want to receive any pleasure or fulfillment from him either. To have that happen would most definitely be betraying Vegeta, she felt.  

 

Jeyice stood there a moment looking at her as though deliberating over what he wanted to do next. “Alright,” he said quietly to himself and nodded. “I’m going to go, but only because that was one of the hottest displays I have ever witnessed, and that _is_ saying something. I am satisfied, however,” he went on, beginning to dress himself. “But I will be seeing you soon and our agreement still stands; you will continue to see your boys.”

 

Bulma just nodded silently, wishing he would hurry up and leave.

 

He didn’t say anything more as he finished dressing himself and gathering his things before exiting her room and closing the door.

 

Bulma bolted up out of her bed the moment he left and raced to the shower, once again, not waiting for the water to warm up in her need to shower any remnants of him off of her completely. She washed and scrubbed herself clean, not bothering to finish herself off even though her nether regions were throbbing and practically begging for her to finish what she had started.

 

She briefly considered it before she committed completely to against doing any such thing and washed herself and any evidence of her own arousal away. She felt that to bring herself fulfilment at a time like this would be disrespectful to Vegeta. She was here against her will, only complying with Jeyice so that she was able to have a relationship with her boys, nothing more.

 

She almost couldn’t believe she had managed to nearly avoid sexual contact with Jeyice almost entirely tonight with her quick thinking and began to think of other possible ways she may be able to avoid or manipulate him.

 

As she thought about it, she couldn’t help but smirk to herself and add up a mental tally:

 

_Bulma-1 Jeyice-1._


	30. Chapter 30

Butterflies and Hurricanes

Chapter 30

It took a few weeks for Jeyice's new living arrangements to be finalized and put together enough for him to move in and settle himself. The new digs and exceptional increase in his salary had put him in a fantastic mood as of late. He still made a point of visiting Bulma most evenings to keep up his end of their bargain; that had not wavered.

It was always the same: He showed up in the late evening shortly after the boys left from visiting her and she appreciated his discretion on the matter. Sometimes he put the effort in to try and arouse her and sometimes he didn't, depending on what sort of mood he was in. Regardless of that, Bulma usually shut herself off to him completely, thinking only of Vegeta. It was the only way she could fake her way through it enough that he wouldn't notice her indifference and complain or threaten to go back on letting her see the boys. She never got anything out of these romps but acted like she did so that he would finish quicker and leave her alone.

She had learned that if she talked dirty to him and over exaggerated her reactions to his touch, it made him finish much quicker than if she just lay there and half-heartedly responded to him.

A few weeks ago, she had been almost at her breaking point with this ridiculous arrangement. The guilt and shame had been nearly eating her alive to the point that it was beginning to affect her performance in the lab. Depression was beginning to set in and win the battle to the point where she was getting up later and later each day. Gero was riding her and beginning to threaten to tell King Cold about her lack of cooperation. She was only barely in compliance enough to keep Gero from ratting her out and getting her into trouble.

As she lay there a few weeks back and allowed Jeyice to use her body to his liking after a few different position changes and some effort on his part to make it pleasant for her, she had begun to feel that familiar feeling of pleasure beginning to build up in her centre. Despite the absolute horror that her body would betray her in that way, she began to cry out and moan in pleasure from the way he was sliding into her and deliberately touching her. To her relief, her response to him had caused him to lose his own control and threw him into climax before she had reached hers.

After she'd pulled herself together and finished punishing and berating herself for feeling any sort of pleasure from him, she began using that new piece of information to her advantage.

Once she began doing that, fortunately for her, he was usually very quick and left right after he had her, not spending the night; thankfully.

Tonight, for whatever reason, he was lingering after their nightly activities.

"You could move in with me in my flat," he suggested to her once he had come down from his euphoric high, gently tracing his fingers up and down the spine of her bare back as she lay there on her stomach, facing him. He found himself feeling a bit more than offended as she snorted immediately at the suggestion without thought. "I know it's no palace like you were used to on Vegeta-sei, but it's nice enough; the bed is bigger and more comfortable and I have both a massive tub and shower that is big enough to accommodate a threesome if you are interested,"

"Nope, no threesomes," she replied immediately, wrinkling her nose in absolute disgust. That was a whole other low she was not interested in stooping to. The gods knew of all the degrading things she had already resorted to letting him do with her but she was determined that a threesome would never be one of them.

"Alright then, I don't think I much like the idea of having to share you either, love; but you could fix the place up any which way you like, 'an no one would hassle you; you'd be safe there. It's closer to where the boys are located too."

She cringed inwardly at the suggestion. While she hated it at the lab and her living quarters were cold and left much to be desired, there was no way in hell she would ever consider moving in with Jeyice. "No, I have to stay here, with Vegeta." She said with a firm resolve in her tone, hoping that it would be enough for him to take the hint.

"But Vegeta is finished, love," he objected gently, trying not to let her see how frustrated he was becoming with her shutting him down like this so casually without even considering it. "There's nothing left to hold onto where he's concerned."

She thought about it and knew that Jeyice was probably right to some degree; even if she got Vegeta out of the regeneration tank without killing him and she and the boys found a way out of here for good, there was still a very high chance that Vegeta would probably never be the same again even if he did wake up from his coma. Would he be in such a bad state that he would be bedridden his whole life? If that was the case, she knew now without having to consult him that he would rather she left him behind than to live out the remainder of his life like that. She didn't know what to do, but she knew what she absolutely could not do. "That may be so, but I won't leave him."

"And that is very admirable of you, but think for a moment about what Vegeta would want. Don't you think he would rather have you safe and sound than toiling in here? I can offer you protection and security. Even in my absence, your safety would be guaranteed."

Bulma forced a smile and nodded at him. "I appreciate that Jeyice, I really do, but I'll take my chances here."

"But why?" he demanded, sitting up in bed to look down at her.

"Because I know you don't get it," she sighed, sitting up and wrapping herself in her sheets, wishing that he would just drop the subject already and leave so she could wash him off of her. "It's nice of you to offer, but I would rather stay here."

Jeyice lightly frowned at her a moment before trying again. "Look, I've been thinking about this for a while now over the last four months I've been back and I have come to the conclusion that I want you. I've never said that to a female before and I'm serious; I want you, but I want you to want me as well," he said to her confidently. "What do I need to do to make that happen? Is it because you think you still belong to Vegeta?"

She shrugged as she cursed herself inwardly at all the worst possible scenarios that could be thrown at her on top of everything else that had already happened. Since this all began, she simply silently went along with his wishes, never bothering to complain anymore so he would get it over and done with and leave. How could he have taken her mere compliance as an indicator that she would even consider actually wanting him? "You can't make it happen, it just happens," she wracked her mind trying to explain it in a way that he could understand it since he was obviously clueless. "I don't belong to Vegeta in the way that ownership implies. I'm with him because I want to be with him. He belongs to me like I belong to him. It's mutual."

"Right, so how do I get that?" he asked. "How do I make that happen?"

"You don't," she sighed.

"Yea, but what if I could?" he insisted. "What would I have to do to plant the seeds?"

"Well, letting me see my boys and not making me have sex with you in exchange for that, would be a good start," she said blandly though she knew she would never truly want him in any capacity beyond wanting him to never come near her again even on the slim chance he did renege on that part of their agreement.

"Well I need something in return," he snorted at the suggestion. "You can't expect to get something for nothing, love. It doesn't work that way."

"What about simply doing something nice for someone else from the bottom of your heart because it's the right or kind thing to do?" she asked.

He scoffed at that. "Because there's nothing in it for me then."

"So what?" she pressed. "Why force someone to do something they don't want to do?"

"It's just sex," he snorted. "You act as though I'm asking something terrible of you when it's really no big deal."

"It is a big deal!" She spat at him in disgust finally, since being polite to spare his feelings apparently wasn't getting her anywhere. "It's a violation! It's completely degrading to just use someone the way you are using me!"

"You're a female," he shrugged.

"So because I'm a female that makes it okay for you to use me as your playground or use sex as a form of currency?"

"Pretty much,"

"You want to know how to make me want you?" she finally asked in frustration.

"Yes," he answered, leaning his face close to hers and looking her square in the eye.

"Leave me alone." She said bluntly. "Let me see my boys and don't expect anything in return."

"Where's the advantage of that?" he asked, looking at her like she'd lost her mind.

"Just to prove that you are a decent being," she replied.

Jeyice shook his head and got up to get dressed and leave; he was embarrassed and humiliated that she had thrown his admissions about how he felt about her and his offer to better her situation back into his face so easily without consideration.

"You know, one day you will maybe be lucky enough to find yourself a wife or a mate and fall in love with her. If that day ever comes, you'll finally understand why this thing between us is so wrong," Bulma said honestly to him, hoping that if he actually sincerely held any real feelings towards her that maybe he would understand her position on it and readjust his thinking. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. "Vegeta protected me and cherished me because I was precious to him. If you find someone like that you will feel the same about her. The thought of another man touching her intimately and using her body for their benefit and making her feel as disgusting as you make me feel will throw you into a blind rage. Then, and only then, will you will understand."

He snorted. "I will make you come around one day, love. One day." He promised before finally leaving her room for good.

"When pigs fly," she muttered under her breath as she jumped out of bed, administering her monthly shot of birth control she had gotten Dende to secretly acquire for her, and headed into her shower. She had no idea if she and Jeyice were even genetically capable of procreating but she figured that since he was mostly humanoid and she and Vegeta certainly were that she wasn't going to take any chances that she may end up pregnant.

She had discovered that there indeed was a harem on this planet, not far from the lab, coincidentally enough. Dende had access to most areas of Cold's base, herum included apparently, which she thought ironic since he was genderless from as far as she understood; still, she referred to him as a he all the time which didn't seem to bother him in the least. Fortunately for Bulma, the girls at the harem thought he was so cute and adorable that they gave him whatever he asked for, no questions asked. She thanked her lucky stars for that and was happy to take the shot once a month. So far, it seemed to be working and she had no issues or side effects so far from it.

So Jeyice wanted her, she thought as she tossed the needle down the toilet and stepped into her shower. He thought he had feelings for her. It was beyond laughable! Not to mention pathetic. If she didn't hate him as much as she did, she would pity him for her supposedly leading him on. Though she honestly had no idea how she could have possibly have given him the wrong idea. She was only as cordial to him as she could manage so as to keep him satisfied so he would still let her see Trunks and Tarble.

While she most definitely would not be moving in with him, she wondered briefly what she could do to use this new knowledge to her advantage. She knew she would have to watch herself and tread very carefully, but maybe this meant that she could find a way to use him to her advantage for a chance instead of being the only one being used here.

-0-0-0-

Trunks tumbled hard onto the cold, hard, stone floor of the training centre. He had lost his concentration and as a result was too slow to block a blow from Jeyice and down he went.

He slammed his fist into the floor in frustration at the unacceptable lapse, holding back a snarl for now hurting his knuckles from doing such a thing before shooting back up to meet Jeyice.

"You may be strong, boy, I'll give you that," Jeyice sneered. "But that nasty little temper of yours is what will do you in if you don't learn to control it."

Trunks shot Jeyice a dirty look in response, readying himself for another onslaught.

"Just like your father," Jeyice added snidely. "He could talk up a good game too, just like you, but when someone threw a few choice insults his way, he would lose all battle sense and then that was it."

"Shut up!" Trunks snarled at him.

"I imagine it was his cocky attitude that got him where he is today; nothing more than a laboratory decorative fixture," he chuckled, continuing to bait Trunks. "You don't learn to pay attention and ignore petty insults, you'll end up just like him. Hmmm, two Saiyans, father and son, side by side... Cold would very much like to have the two of you as decorative accents in his throne room perhaps. I'll be sure to mention it if you don't shape up."

Trunks flew at Jeyice, phasing in and out after him, trying to land a punch in his face. Since he had returned to Cold's base four months ago, he had been exceptionally harder on both boys than he had ever been before. While it was a good thing in terms of improving the boys' training progress and techniques, it was extremely frustrating for them both. Trunks especially, since he had been the favourite up until this point.

"You need to think first and follow through second," Jeyice instructed, blocking Trunks every attempt with ease. "Though your father's method was to act first and think later so I suppose you cannot help yourself then, can you. Your father's same weakness flows through you."

Trunks' fist just grazed Jeyice's jaw and before he could do it again, Jeyice kicked him hard, under the jaw and while he was still dazed, he threw him back down into the ground.

"Trunks!" Tarble whispered hoarsely from the side-lines. "He's deliberately trying to make you mad so you'll make mistakes."

"I know that, stupid!" Trunks sighed as he picked himself back up.

"Then why are you letting him get to you? You're doing exactly what he wants you to do." Tarble observed.

"Alright, since you seem to think it's so easy, why don't you go fight with him then? You've done nothing since we started but sit there."

"I'm practicing controlling my ki!" Tarble objected in offense. "Which hasn't been easy to concentrate on doing with you constantly falling and shouting by the way."

"Well it's not my fault you can't figure out how to do something so easy!" Trunks shot back.

"You know that selfish mother of yours would be doing your father a great kindness by simply pulling the plug on him," Jeyice taunted, landing on the ground in front of Trunks, distracting the boys from their bickering.

Trunks glared at Jeyice.

"It's true," he continued. "I'm more of a father to you two brats than he will ever be. She disgraces him with her conduct and allowing him to live that way. That's no life. Especially not for a warrior of his calibre. You know for all his flaws and all the shit I talk about him, I did respect him once," Jeyice said, his tone changing from mocking to sincere. "I'm not quite sure why she hangs on to him the way she does."

"Because he's our father and she's his wife?" Tarble suggested as though the answer was obvious.

Jeyice snorted. "Which means what, exactly?"

The two boys shrugged and looked at each other because they didn't really know.

"Exactly!" Jeyice scoffed. "Ask your mother one of these days about what it means to be married or mated or whatever the hell she calls it and then ask her about the stipulations of it."

Jeyice had asked her shortly after his new living arrangements had been set up if she would move in with him. She had shot him down without second thought and it had picked at him ever since. He had let it slide though and had hoped that she would reconsider and bring it up but it had been two weeks since then and she hadn't, much to his frustration.

Both boys frowned and looked at each other and shrugged, unsure of what he was getting at. He smelled of their mother and she smelled of him, it was something they had gotten used to and while they wondered about it, they never asked about it.

After their frustrating training session with Jeyice, the boys showered, ate and headed down to the science wing to visit with Bulma as they always did.

They found her working in the lab today instead of in her room as she usually was.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted, setting her project aside.

Gero turned from his own studies and narrowed his eyes at the two boys. His efforts of helping Bulma had dwindled after a week or two and he had gone back to his obsession of studying Vegeta's physiology.

She uneasily noticed his scrutinizing the boys. "Let's go where it's more comfortable," she suggested.

"We wanted to see dad today though," Trunks objected. Jeyice's taunting from earlier today had been weighing heavily on him.

"Oh," Bulma replied, turning to look at Vegeta floating in the regeneration tank briefly and then shooting a dirty look of warning at Gero. "Sure. You can see him, but nothing has changed, he's still in the regeneration tank."

The boys walked up to the tank to look at him in what she assumed was admiration and awe. She wasn't sure what to say to them so she didn't say anything, only watched Gero warily as he observed them like a hawk following a small rodent prey.

"Don't you even think about it." She hissed quietly at him.

Gero shot her a dirty look in reply before packing up his notes, books, and whatever else he was working on. "I will see you tomorrow." He spat before quickly heading out of the lab.

Bulma breathed a sigh of relief after he closed and locked the lab doors before walking up to the boys who were still gazing at Vegeta.

"So why is dad still in a tank?" Trunk asked.

"Because King Cold wants him kept in there," she replied.

"Will he ever get to come out?" Tarble asked her.

"I don't know, sweetie. I would love nothing more than that but until King Cold says so, he will have to stay in there."

They were both quiet for a while before Trunks spoke again. "You should just pull the plug." He said tonelessly with a shrug.

Bulma was almost too shocked to even reply. Almost. Her shock was instantly replaced by anger. "Trunks! How could you even think such a thing!"

Trunks shrugged in response, turning away from the regeneration tank.

"This," she said, mimicking his shrug, "Is not an answer. Why would you even think of such a thing?"

"You don't know what it's like!" he accused her angrily. "You don't know the things they say about him. What an embarrassment it is that everyone knows that he's in here! He's nothing more than a joke."

Bulma was taken back by Trunks outburst and wasn't sure what to say.

"Jeyice told us that it's not nice that he stays in there," Tarble added.

"Well, no, he's right; it's not, but it's only temporary." She said, still disturbed by Trunks thoughts.

After swallowing down a weave of emotion she put an arm on Tarble's shoulder. "Let's go," she said quietly, ushering them both out of the lab and into her own private quarters.

Trunks didn't say anything further, just plopped himself down onto the couch silently brooding over whatever it was that was picking at him.

Tarble helped her make some tea in the kitchen and handed her a capsule loaded up with all of their favourite snacks silently before heading back out into the living room.

Bulma took a seat next to Trunks, trying to think of something to say to him to get her to open up to her. He had been increasingly moody these past few weeks and she didn't understand why and any effort she put forth to get him to open up usually backfired on her and only seemed to push him further away.

As she sat there in worry, trying to think of something to say to lighten up the sour mood in the room, she began to absentmindedly play with the two rings she wore around her neck as a neckless.

"Why do you always wear that?" Trunks asked, pointing to her neckless pendant with both hers and Vegeta's rings hanging on it in her hand. She had found Vegeta's in the lab on Gero's desk shortly after her arrival and had taken it and took to wearing it for safe keeping for Vegeta she told herself. Her own ring she had removed and put it on the chain with Vegeta's and she wore them both always, never taking it off. In her guilt over her arrangement with Jeyice, she just didn't feel quite right wearing it on her ring finger but couldn't bring herself to not have it on her at all, so that's what she did.

"This is your father's ring and this ring is mine," she said, slipping the chain off and handing it to Trunks. "In my culture, where I come from, it was customary to exchange rings when you get married or mated and decided to spend your life with someone special. Your father chose the blue one for me and the plain black one for himself. When he was taken, they wouldn't let him keep it so I'm keeping it safe for him until we get out of here."

"We're never getting out of here," Trunks snorted bitterly, looking at the rings with only mild interest before passing them on to Tarble. "Not all of us."

"Well, it may be a while, but I'm working on it." Bulma sighed, trying to keep a positive tone.

"Where would we go?" Tarble asked, looking at Bulma's ring carefully.

"There's a planet far away from here where my parents live." She answered vaguely, not wanting to give them the name of it just in case they accidentally it slipped to Jeyice or someone else. "I was supposed to take you there but didn't get out in time."

"You keep saying that but never tell us why." Trunks said.

"Oh, well, it's such a long story, sweetie."

"You always say that too," Trunks pointed out. "Why don't you just tell us? All we do is sit here and play games."

Bulma looked at him a moment, slightly taken aback by his tone. "Alright, well, I packed you guys up and was ready to leave when I decided to let some friends of mine and your father's know where I was going so they wouldn't worry. On my way out I was arrested and we were all brought here."

The boys didn't say anything.

"You were both only little babies at the time. That was about seventeen months ago, from my count anyway. It could be a bit less, but I think that's about right." She said. "I'm sorry it worked out that way but I did my best and that still wasn't good enough."

"We still can," Tarble shrugged. "We get to go with Jeyice on his next mission!"

"Wait, what?" Bulma asked in shock. Jeyice hadn't mentioned anything about this to her. Not that they talked much, but she still always asked him about the boys and their progress and any developments that she should know about.

"Ya!" Tarble continued excitedly. "I don't know where he's going, but he said he gets to take us with him. He told us that today before we finished training for the day."

"It's going to be great!" Trunks agreed. "I can't wait."

It was Bulma's turn to be quiet this time and dwell on the implications of this news. It was a positive step in the boys learning where other planets were and maybe find a way to escape, but they were only a few months shy of being ten years old! Was it appropriate for them to be going on a mission? What if something happened to them?

"Do you know the nature of this mission?" she asked finally.

"Nope," they both answered in unison.

"Jeyice hasn't said but he said it's a good one for us and that we would be briefed on our way out." Tarble said.

"Alright," she nodded despite feeling incredibly uneasy about the idea that they would be starting to be sent on missions. She'd known that eventually this day would come, but that didn't make it any easier for her to come to terms with it. "Well, be careful and make sure you do everything Jeyice tells you to do."

"We will," Trunks said. "We've been waiting since forever to be allowed to go on missions, we're not going to blow it."

Bulma nodded. "Your father would be proud." She said despite herself. While she didn't like it or understand it, she knew Vegeta would have been proud that they were old enough to do missions and such. She cringed the thought of not knowing what would be involved in these missions. They wouldn't be expected to kill anyone, would they?

"Too bad he isn't coming," Tarble said. "I've gotten stronger! I'd love to show him what I can do now that I'm starting to catch up to Trunks!"

"You haven't caught up to me, Tarble," Trunks huffed.

"No, but I'm getting close," he replied proudly. "Jeyice said so."

"Hey, no bickering!" Bulma reprimanded them both. "What happened to working together, hmm?"

"We do work together," Trunks replied. "But I'm still stronger than Tarble."

"Alright," she sighed. "Whatever the mission is, just make sure you both take care of each other. I don't care what they want from you, you both need to stick together and look out for one another. Do you understand?" she lectured them, feeling a panic attack coming on at the thought that they would be leaving. Would it be a dangerous mission? What would they be made to do? Surly Jeyice would make sure they would be safe, wouldn't he?

The boys left soon after; the rest of their visit was light and went by without further incident, though Bulma's mind wasn't present as she conjured up all sorts of scenarios of what may happen and possibly go wrong while they were gone. What would she do if something happened to either of them? They were her current reason for hanging onto her sanity.

By the time Jeyice showed up, she had worked herself into such a tizzy that she couldn't help but take a strip off of him.

"When were you going to tell me, you son of a bitch!" she shouted accusingly at him when he showed up to her quarters, tossing a shoe at him.

"What the fuck!" he exclaimed as he deflected it, last minute with his forearm. "Tell you what, you crazy bitch?"

"That they boys are leaving to go with you on a mission?"

"I only heard this morning!" he said defensively. "An' the little brats weren't to tell you until just before we left!"

"Which is when?"

"Three weeks from now," he told her. "They're ready. It's time for them to begin their careers in King Cold's service as soldiers."

Bulma shook her head at him in disbelief. "They're too young."

"They aren't," Jeyice insisted. "Now, I have put off and delayed this for as long as possible on your behalf. I cannot put it off any longer or Cold is going to have my ass. As it is, he is becoming very impatient that I have held them back for as long as I have."

She swallowed a lump of emotion, knowing that he was right; it couldn't be put off forever. Cold would be wanting them out doing whatever they've been training them to do since they were infants. As she paced across the room, she had to even admit to herself that once Trunks had reached this age naturally, she would be sitting here more than likely having this same argument with Vegeta. At least she would have actually had almost ten years with her baby boy instead of two years. Two years! That was how old Trunks should be now. Not almost ten!

It sent her into another weave of near hysterics as she tried to fathom that idea once again. It still just didn't make sense to her; she felt like she was going crazy and wanted to scream out in her frustration.

"Should I go?" Jeyice asked, yanking her out of her train of thought.

Never had he offered her a choice in the matter before. "Yes," she replied after the shock of him asking such a thing wore off.

Jeyice stood there for a moment longer, unsure what to say to her before leaving finally. She still in such deep thought that never heard him leave.

-0-0-0-

The three weeks had passed by quickly for Bulma and the boys. They were so excited about their first mission it was all they talked about when they came to see Bulma.

She tried her best to share their enthusiasm and put her worries aside when she was with them. They seemed confident in their abilities and Jeyice had reassured her repeatedly that everything would be fine. He wouldn't divulge her the objective or any details of what they would be facing or required to do while on this mission, but insisted that he would keep a close watch on them and make sure they both returned safely.

"If anything happens to either one of them, I will hold you personally responsible, do you understand?" she snipped at him.

"I will do my utmost, love. You have my word on it. Besides, we will only be a month or two at the most," he had told her casually.

Bulma sighed as she sat at her work station, going over her notes again. She had left Jeyice asleep in her bed and came to work to clear her head.

Last night she hadn't been fortunate enough that he left after taking her once, as usual. Unfortunately, since he was leaving the next morning for several weeks or so, he figured he needed to get his fill in before he left and had spent the entire night with her, waking her up a couple of times throughout the night. She knew she would undoubtedly miss Trunks and Tarble terribly but she could not wait for him to leave! After the last time, he seemed to be tired enough that he would hopefully stay asleep. Bulma decided she wasn't taking any chances, left him in her bed and went to work in the lab to distract herself from worrying about the boys leaving.

That had been a few hours ago and she had been so absorbed in her work she hadn't heard him enter the lab.

"What are you working on, love?" he asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She started at the contact and sound of his voice. "You scared the shit out of me!" she snipped at him.

"Sorry," he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. "I woke up an' you weren't there, I was worried."

"I couldn't sleep," she answered honestly. "So decided I may as well get up and try to do something productive."

Jeyice nodded. "What is it you're working on?"

"King Cold wants us to build him a cloaking device," she replied. "So far we haven't been able to come up with anything he's happy with. I don't even think what he wants is even possible."

"Well it's no secret around here that he's bloody nuts," Jeyice snorted.

Bulma turned to look at him, shocked that he'd said such a thing.

"What? He is! He's frigging bat shit crazy, he is. Sure Frieza was a tyrant and a vindictive bastard at the best of times but at least he had it together. He knew what he was doing and there was order in the way he ran things. It was fucked up, but there was order. With Cold he hasn't a clue on how to run things and to make matters worse, he's paranoid as hell! So you can be on his good side one day and on his shit list the next if you sniff in front of him instead of sneeze. The man is a bloody lunatic."

Bulma nodded as she listened. This was interesting, though not surprising. "So it's better to keep a low profile then?"

"Yea," he replied. "So what is it, exactly, you are trying to accomplish when you say King Cold wants you to make a cloaking device?" he asked.

"He wants his troops to be invisible, pretty much," she shrugged. "I can make it so that they aren't visible or able to be detected any type of radar or ultrasound device used to pick up on incoming ships at a distance but once they reach a certain point, they will be visible to the naked eye."

"That's impressive," he nodded. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, we are going with it but he wants everyone to be completely invisible so that they can sneak up on whoever he wants them to sneak up on and phase in and out of visibility at will pretty much."

Jeyice snorted. "Good luck with that,"

"Exactly, right?" she agreed. "So I'm trying my best and so far nothing I've come up with has been deemed acceptable to him."

"Hmm," Jeyice grunted. "Let me see if I can maybe find something on my travels that could help. Sometimes we leave base for entertainment to unwind and such. It's not uncommon to find unique little finds here and there; novelty items and such. If I happen to come across something that might help you out with this, I'll look into it."

"You'd do that?" she asked, turning around to face him, genuinely shocked that he would even offer.

"Of course," he shrugged as though it were obvious that he would offer to do such a thing for her. "It wouldn't do me any good if something happened to you because Cold was unsatisfied with your work."

"Well that's very sweet of you, Jeyice." She smiled, cupping the side of his cheek.

"I know," he said, offering her a satisfied smirk, lifting her off the ground and propping her up on the work station. "However I must be leaving in a few hours. Why don't you an' I take a shower and you can give me a proper send off? I'll even make sure the boys come see you real quick before we depart."

Bulma forced a smiled and nodded as she cringed inwardly at the thought of him touching her again but forced herself to lean in and kiss him deeply. If he was to be gone for a month or two, this was a small price to pay. The sooner she got this over and done with, the sooner he would be gone and she could forget about him entirely until his return.

Bulma wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked her up and carried her out of the lab and into her small shower.


	31. Chapter 31

Butterflies and Hurricanes

Chapter 31

He felt like he was flying. Endlessly flying with no destination. He didn't know how long he'd been flying or how much longer he would be flying. He only just now realized that he was flying.

Flying into a white void of nothingness.

There were no land marks, no scenery, no anything. There was nothing. Just white void for as far as he could see in every direction: above, below, in front, behind and on either side of him. Instead of being alarmed, he was more confused than anything else. He couldn't tell how far he'd travelled or for how long, so he kept going forward; or what he assumed was forward. He could have been flying in a circle for the last several hours for all he knew because there was nothing to indicate otherwise. Was it hours or minutes, he wondered.

As the undetermined amount of time passed, he went through a torrent of emotions and feelings as he tried to determine an appropriate timeline.

There were moments he felt blissful like right now and then there were moments he felt frustrated because he didn't know how long he'd been aimlessly flying around for or where he was even going.

Was it a few hours, a few days? Was it a few months even? He did not know.

He also had moments when he felt bogged down with depression and anxiety and moments where he only felt hopelessness.

He wasn't sure why he felt some of these things, he was in a void. What was there to be anxious over other than the fact that he had no idea where he was going or where he had come from? His battle trained sensed reminded him to remain calm and not to over think it; a solution would eventually come to him.

Upon further thought, he only realized just now for the first time that his chest and abdomen were fine. He stopped flying and looked down at himself. He was wearing nothing more than his usual blue flight suit and his body was whole again. The last he remembered, his insides and vital organs had been torn apart or out. His chest cavity was wide open and even when it had seemingly healed on the outside, it had still felt like it was on fire for what seemed to be an eternity to him. He had felt like he was burning from the inside out and it had been so excruciating, without any relief or means to alleviate the discomfort, that he had convinced himself then that he was in hell. Now he felt better. Inexplicably.

He couldn't remember when he'd began to feel better, but it was when he had begun flying endlessly. It was blissful most of the time but now he was becoming frustrated with it again.

He knew he had somewhere to be...

Except he wasn't sure where exactly. Or why.

Someone needed him.

Had he somehow escaped from hell, he wondered? Why else was he feeling better? The never ending burning throughout his entire body had been nearly inescapable for so long!

He had accepted that he had obviously perished and had been sent to hell. It hadn't bothered him all that much because he'd always known that was where he was bound to go anyway. He had accepted that so why now was he in this blissful never ending state of limbo land?

"My, I assumed that it would be some time until we crossed paths again, my favourite prince," a frighteningly familiar voice said from behind him. He looked over his left shoulder where the voice was but saw nothing. Just void. White, endless void. "I figured it would be quite some time before we met again. Apparently I was wrong." the voice cackled in amusement.

Vegeta snarled in anger at the condescending tone. "Show yourself!" he demanded.

"Now, now, no need to get testy," it reprimanded him. "I nearly forgot how easily riled up you can be."

Once again, Vegeta spun around only this time he was greeted with the being that matched the voice he knew so well and would never forget. "What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning in disgust at his former tormentor who stood before him in his flawless white and purple final form.

"You should know," Frieza shrugged innocently. "It is only natural that the two of us would be here,"

So he was in hell, Vegeta realized. Of course Frieza was the only person he had seen. Maybe hell wasn't a big, vast pit of horribleness full of unsavoury people being endlessly tortured for eternity by a sadistic overlord; maybe it was different for everyone and when you died you were just sent into a version of your own personal hell. In which case, this would be it. He couldn't think of anything much worse than suffering an eternity wondering around a void with only Frieza for company. If there were any gods, they had a very sick sense of humour.

"Together," Frieza added looking intently at him.

"Fuck off," Vegeta snorted, turning his back on his former master, mentor and tormentor. He knew he had someplace else he needed to be other than here but he wasn't sure where that was exactly. "I want nothing to do with you."

"Then why am I here?" Frieza asked him in a sly tone as though he already knew the answer. "I'm only here because you want me to be here."

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "The only reason I would ever want you here is to destroy you over and over again."

"My, my, still holding petty grudges, I see," Frieza huffed, quickening his pace so as to coast beside him as Vegeta flew aimlessly into the white void again.

Vegeta ignored him, still flying in his chosen direction; not that it even seemed to matter which way he flew.

"What would that woman of yours think of you if she knew you were still acting as childish and petty as ever?" he taunted and knew he'd hit a mark when Vegeta halted in mid-air. "If anyone should be holding a grudge, it should be me after the tasteless way in which you ended me."

Bulma… Bulma and Trunks. That's where he needed to be. They were trapped somewhere; he wasn't sure where, but his gut told him that it was true. He needed to find a way back to them as soon as possible, he thought as he ignored Frieza altogether.

"Still hung up on her?" Frieza asked snidely.

"Shut up,"

"What was it, really?" he pressed. "Such a frail, helpless little thing. I admit the thought of tasting her and having her just to see what you found so appealing did cross my mind when she was in my care. Unfortunately, well, you know where my tastes run."

Vegeta still continued to ignore him; he was fully aware that Frieza was intentionally baiting him. In his younger years, it would have worked and he would have engaged him by now, but knowing that he could put his fist through the lizard's chest cavity without much effort at all seemed to make him think it wasn't worth the effort.

He needed to get back to his family. Not waste valuable time fighting someone whom he had already beaten.

Frieza frowned as Vegeta didn't respond and began flying again, only quicker this time. "Well this isn't much fun," he sulked. "Where exactly do you think you are going?"

Again, Vegeta did not reply. He was simply looking around him for any clue of a way out of this white, endless hell.

"You know there is no way out of here, right?" Frieza taunted in amusement after observing Vegeta carefully for a few more minutes. "It's just you and me..."

Having had enough of Frieza's company and chatting, hell even the very sound if his feminine voice finally got the better of Vegeta; he turned around and elbowed the lizard in the mouth, effectively shutting him up with the exception of his moan of discomfort.

"That wasn't very nice, Vegeta," Frieza snapped at him, holding his jaw and glaring murderously at him. "Has it been so long that you have forgotten your place?"

"Has it been so long that you have forgotten our last exchange is the reason you are rotting here?" Vegeta laughed. "I ended your existence. Or have you completely forgotten?"

Frieza snarled in reply.

"I can give you a demonstration and repeat performance to jog your memory if you like?" Vegeta offered, arrogantly crossing his arms and standing tall. "I remember every glorious detail of it and wouldn't mind reliving it."

"You disrespectful little shit!" he spat at him as he dodged Vegeta's fist and managed to phase behind him and wrap his tail around Vegeta's neck unexpectedly. "You realize that you are successful because of me! You are who you are because of me! I created you and made you what you are! If it wasn't for me you'd be nothing more than a simpering runt of a money prince that would never have amounted to a single thing," he growled cruelly at Vegeta as he drew him close to him and began constricting his tail around his neck tightly. "It was I who moulded, twisted and shaped you as I saw fit. You owe me your gratitude and respect no matter which dimension we happen to cross paths in!"

"I owe you nothing," Vegeta wheezed, placing his hands on the tail that was wrapped impossibly tight around his neck and crushing one of the vertebra, causing Frieza to shriek in agony and let him go except Vegeta only tightened his grip on the deadly appendage. "If I owe my accomplishments to anyone, it is to her; not you." He said dangerously, yanking on Frieza's tail and ripping it clean off of him right where the lizard's spine ended and tail began.

Frieza gaped in absolute sheer white hot pain. He couldn't scream or even breathe.

Vegeta smirked evilly at him, thoroughly enjoying the fact that he had turned his own personal hell around into something victorious. "You know, if this is hell, I think I am going to rather enjoy it here," he gloated, holding the severed tail by the thick end and swinging it around to hit Frieza on the head with it.

"Hmmmn," he grunted appreciatively, looking at the tail. "I forgot how dangerous this thing is." he said as he began whipping Frieza with it again.

"Stop!" he screeched at him, bringing his arm up for cover.

"Stop?" Vegeta asked with a puzzled look, pausing briefly before continuing on. "Why? Did you ever stop when I asked you to, when I was a boy?"

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I made mistakes."

"Ha!" Vegeta laughed. "You don't say!" he spat, not letting up with the lashes. He had originally had no interest in destroying Frieza in this dimension, but now that he was on the attack, it felt rather good to take out his rage and anger out on his former master.

After several minutes, he grew tired of this new game. Frieza was barely fighting back so there was no amusement. Vegeta phased into his Super Saiyan form and tossed the severed tail behind him. "Pathetic," he spat.

"Wait!" Frieza pleaded in fear as Vegeta walked up with him. "It does not have to be this way. We can keep each other company. Besides, you killed me once already. If you kill me now I'll only rematerialize and come back."

"Good," Vegeta grunted. "I'll take pleasure in ending you until you quit bothering me like a whipped dog." he taunted as he powered up.

"No! Don't!" Frieza shrieked, putting his hand out as Vegeta released a brilliant blast of ki right into his face.

He knew he was over doing it; he only wanted to kill Frieza so he didn't have to endure his presence any longer, not roast him. Vegeta shrugged, upping his ki blast even further so that there was nothing left of the lizard.

"And don't waste your time returning," he spat once there was nothing but charred remains left.

Vegeta huffed in satisfaction of his work and turned heel and began walking this time instead of flying; though he didn't know if he was on the ground or still in the air. This whole place was horribly confusing to him and it began to make him feel claustrophobic as the time dragged.

He stopped and looked behind him; Frieza's black burned remains weren't to be seen so he must have travelled a fair distance, he figured.

Vegeta shrugged and kept going. Sooner or later, he had to come across something that would lead him towards the exit of this void. From there he would find a way to contact Bulma or at least see if he could find out how she was doing.

-0-0-0-

It had been three weeks since they had left King Cold's base on Isotope.

Jeyice had been so busy with gathering all the information about the mission details that Cold kept sending him and about planet they were about to land on, that he had barely had time to spend with Trunks and Tarble to work with them. He had delegated that job to Recoome.

Today he had finally made the time to see what the boys had learned these past three weeks with Recoome and they had enthusiastically shown him a short, perfectly choreographed dance routine and finish pose as their introduction.

"What the fuck is that?" Jeyice asked them, unamused.

"What?" Trunks asked in confusion.

"That!" Jeyice spat. "What you just did! I asked you to show me what Recoome has taught you."

"This is what he taught us," Tarble answered.

"Did he not teach you his signature finishing move?"

The boys both relaxed from their pose, looked at each other in confusion and shook their heads. "No,"

Jeyice took a deep breath to calm his nerves before calling Recoome down to the ship's training room on the intercom. He appeared in a matter of minutes.

"Hey, boss!" he greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Jeyice spat. "I'll tell you what's up! I just asked the boys to show me what you've taught them these past three weeks, that's what's up."

"Awe, boys, come on; don't be shy. You can show Jeyice." he said to the boys.

"They did,"

Recoome nodded proudly. "They're both born naturals, hey? Ha haa!"

"I asked you to teach them your finishing move, you moron!"

"Ugh, which one?" he asked scratching his head.

"The mouth energy wave!"

"Oh, you mean the Recoome Eraser Gun?" he asked.

"Is it the energy beam that comes out of your bloody mouth, Recoome?" Jeyice asked, his patience beginning to wear thin.

"Ya,"

"Alright then, why haven't they learned it?" Jeyice demanded angrily. The entire journey, Recoome had become like their friend, making Jeyice look bad in front of them for attempting to keep order. Jeyice could not be watching over them all the time, so he had left them under the watchful eye of Recoome, which he was almost instantly regretting.

Jeyice had wanted Recoome to teach the boys some of his more advanced fighting techniques, but instead the simple warrior had taught them nothing more than dance moves and poses.

"Awe, come on, Jeyice," Recoome said sympathetically. "They're just boys. Ya gotta let them have some fun once in a while. You know how hard that technique is? I doubt they'd be able to do that anyway at their skill level. And what if they accidentally blow a hole in the ship? I know you think I'm an imbecile, but it's hard to control that attack. A ship isn't the place to learn it."

"Hmmm, that may be the most intelligent thing you've said ever," Jeyice said coolly. "I'm not amused you've wasted three entire weeks though!"

"We haven't wasted three weeks, Jeyice," Recoome objected. "Boys, show them your post victory battle pose."

The boys nodded and flipped away and then towards each other in a beautifully put together routine before settling side by side, backs facing each other in a confident, almost cocky, final pose.

Recoome clapped enthusiastically. "Way to go, guys, way to go!"

Jeyice stood there seething, chewing his bottom lip as Recoome proudly commended the boys.

"That's class right there, Jeyice. Pure class."

"Recoome," he sighed trying to gather his thoughts and not just pummel the senseless brute. "I need you to listen very carefully now,"

"Ya, sure thing, boss man; anything." Recoome nodded. "At ease, boys. Go and get a beverage of your choice on my tab."

"No, they won't," Jeyice snipped. "You both stay right there, we aren't finished here. We have a lot of work to do."

"Awe, come on," Trunks whined.

"You shut it!" Jeyice said, pointing at them to stay put. "We've wasted enough time in the last three weeks apparently. It is time to get into business."

"Hey, don't be that way, Jeyice," Recoome objected. "They worked really hard to get those down right and you haven't even seen their individual greetings and what I taught them to do before a ki attack. Man, Captain Ginyu would be so proud of these boys."

"Captain Ginyu was an idiot and is no longer leader of this group!" Jeyice reminded him harshly.

"That's a bit uncalled for, Jeyice," Recoome frowned. "He worked really hard building up the team. I think we owe it to him to keep the integrity of the Ginyu Force alive and intact in his honour now that he's gone. It's bad enough Guildo bailed on us; little twerp. With these two, we're back to a full force again. Doesn't it feel good? Burter agrees."

"I don't give a fuck what Burter thinks, I am leader of this group now and I say there is no reason to keep on as we were pirouetting around like a bunch of Nancys."

"Why not? It was great!"

"We were a joke, Recoome!" Jeyice spat in barely contained rage. "We were nothing more than a fucking joke to whomever we crossed paths with! That idiot, Captain Ginyu, spent far too much time on that shit," he went on, gesturing towards the boys who were still standing in their pose as he and Recoome argued. "Maybe if he'd have actually worked at training us better as well as himself, he'd still be around. Oh, wait, he isn't! So that means it falls on me to make sure this group is no longer the laughing stock of the galaxy anymore! It was shameful, Recooome, and you know it. Absolutely bloody shameful!"

"I thought we all had a pretty good time," Recoome pouted. "You had fun, admit it. You were the youngest recruit of the Ginyu Force at that time, now that we have these two. We may have been the joke…. Until they saw what we could do and that was the point, Jeyice."

"There was no bloody point," Jeyice snorted. "We danced around like idjits-"

"Exactly, it was a diversion to make our opponents drop their guard, you should know that; Captain Ginyu always reminded us of it before battle." Recoome interrupted him. "Why do you think the galaxy feared us when they heard we were sent on a mission?"

"I have no fucking clue, Recoome." Jeyice sighed. "We'd show up, do our thing and our adversaries looked at us like we were clowns."

"And that was when we'd strike!" Recoome reminded him, punching one fist into his hand for emphasis. "That was why we were successful. They never saw it coming. Sure it was silly some of the time, but we were a deadly force to be reckoned with and we need to hang onto that to honour the Captain now that he's gone. We do that by leaving the formula the same and by training these boys the way that Captain Ginyu so generously trained us."

"Minus the theatrics,"

"No, we need the theatrics!" Recoome insisted.

"What good are theatrics if you cannot back it up?" Jeyice asked. "They can have all the flair and talent that the Captain would have wanted but if they couldn't back it up on the battle field, it's useless Recoome. Completely and utterly useless."

"Alright, Jeyice," Recoome nodded, putting his hands up in defence. "I will work with them."

"Teach them something fucking useful then!" he snarled. "Idiotic dance moves and striking brilliant poses aren't useful." he finished, exiting the training room in a huff.

"Okay boys, you heard him. Let's learn something new!" Recoome said cheerfully, approaching the boys.

"I told you all that was a waste of time," Trunks huffed.

"It will come in handy, you'll see," Recoome shrugged. "Now both of you, come at me!"

In a second, both boys launched themselves towards him and so began a warm up spar that would hopefully lead to useful lessons in combat rather than lessons more suited for the theatre.

-0-0-0-

With the boys and Jeice gone, Bulma fell into a simple, rigorous routine of working all day in the lab and then working almost all night long in her room, sometimes only getting in a few hours' sleep.

Her Hope project was coming along quite nicely. She managed to fix her Instant Transmission project that Gero had trashed several weeks back. The only real problem she could understand with it was that the generator wasn't very efficient. It used a lot of energy and it took forever to recharge it, which was a problem she would need to address later on.

Bulma stood up and stretched; she had been bent over on the floor finishing tightening and fixing her project for longer than she thought and now she was stiff and had a knot in her neck. She knew it was late and she should be getting to bed but she just wasn't tired and she wanted to get as much done while she had the opportunity.

Gero's careful watch on her had been steadily waning as of late. She figured it was because she never attempted to escape or do anything that would raise his suspicion from him and it had hopefully lulled him into a false sense that she had accepted her surroundings. Which in a way she had, but that still didn't mean she wasn't going to use every resource or opportunity she could to further her escape plans. It may take longer this way, but it was better to work slowly and steadily instead of being careless and risk potentially losing everything she had already worked so hard on and losing the amount of freedom she already had. It wasn't a ton of freedom, but it was enough that so far she had been able to work on her own undiscovered.

Deciding on a quick break, she went into her small kitchen to make herself some tea and see what she could scrounge up to eat. The boys had given her all sorts of goodies before they had left. She smiled to herself at the thought of them. Sure she revelled in the silence and lack of drama these past few weeks they had been gone, but she missed them terribly and hoped they were alright wherever they were.

She realized then that she had no teabags left in her little container. She groaned inwardly and still set her kettle to boil herself some water before sneaking out of her own room.

As she quietly snuck over to where she knew Gero kept his stash she was startled as she heard something.

"Dende!" she whispered hoarsely. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"You scared me," he commented with a small smile.

"Sorry," she whispered apologetically.

"It's okay," he said, and began sweeping the floor again. "I'm cleaning. What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep so I was getting something to make tea," she replied. It was half true. "Why are you cleaning?"

"I always clean," he shrugged. "Someone needs to do it. Gero won't let anyone else in the lab to do it so he makes me do it."

Bulma frowned at the little Namek. It never once occurred to her who cleaned and straightened up the lab. Sure she almost always tidied her work area before she turned in for the day but the overall state of the lab was always near impeccable. "Well, why didn't you say something?" she asked him, feeling somewhat guilty. "I can help you. It's not fair for you to have to do it all especially since Gero is a bit of a pig when it comes to his work station."

"Thank you, I appreciate that but I don't think he would like that very much; he's very paranoid."

Bulma nodded in understanding. "Well, I wouldn't want to do anything that might get you into trouble but if you want, maybe we can split the work load?" she suggested. "You can do Gero's work space and I can take care of my own and whatever else needs to be done?"

"That might be alright," Dende replied with an appreciative smile. "I'm almost done for today so don't worry about it but you can help me tomorrow if you want?"

"Sounds like a deal!" she smiled, grabbing a few tea bags. "You sure you don't have anything else that needs doing tonight? It's late, you should be sleeping."

"No, I just need to sweep up. Thank you though," Dende replied politely. "Why are you up so late? I know you generally don't sleep because the light in your room is always on until late; sometimes you're still up when I'm finished here."

Bulma looked at him a moment, wondering if she could tell him about what she was working on. She had a feeling that he was trustworthy. They hadn't spoken much because Gero was almost always present but she was under the distinct impression that the young Namek child was not happy here and would more than likely jump at the opportunity to escape if she found a way out.

"If you are planning an escape, please take me with you!" he whispered hoarsely from across the room as though he had been able to read her thoughts. "If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me. I'll do just about anything to get out of here and back to my people."

She nodded and silently indicated for him to follow her back to her room, which he eagerly set the broom aside and followed her.

"You have to promise that you won't tell anyone about this; no one!" she lectured him.

"I promise, I won't," he said firmly. "I figured you were working on something and I've wanted to ask you for a while but never had the opportunity until now."

"Alright," she nodded, deciding then to take a leap of faith that she could trust the little Namek. So far he hadn't done anything that made her question his motives of helping her. He was, after all a slave here just like she was. "Remember that Instant Transmission project I made for King Cold?"

"Yes," he nodded.

Bulma locked her door and took out the capsule she had stored it in and decapsulated it in the middle of the floor. "I didn't throw it away, I took it and was able to salvage it. I'm almost finished fixing it."

Dende looked appreciatively at it. "I thought it was a really great idea, I didn't understand why Dr. Gero and King Cold weren't impressed with it.

"I don't know either and I was initially really annoyed because of all the effort and work that had gone into it but that's okay; it's worked out greatly to my advantage that they didn't want it." she shrugged off. "I've come up with something even better!"

"What are you going to do with it?" he asked, looking at the controls in interest.

"Well, I'm not sure if it is even possible and feel free to tell me I'm crazy, but I wanted to turn it into a time machine," she said. "Like if I could go back and change even one small thing, maybe we wouldn't be here. You know? I can think of two or even three fixed points that had Vegeta or myself had done something entirely different, we wouldn't be here."

Dende was quiet a moment as he took in her admission.

"You think I'm nuts, don't you?" she asked in a dejected tone, knowing that in all likelihood this hair brained idea was probably less possible and more ridiculous than King Cold's invisibility project he had her slaving over.

"No," the young Namek shook his head. "It is possible to do what you are thinking of, but highly illegal."

"What! So there is a way?" she asked dumbfounded. "I can't believe it! I haven't just been wasting my time!"

"Just hang on a second," Dende said, putting his hand up to get her attention. "What you are proposing can be done, but you aren't considering whether or not it should be done."

Bulma frowned somewhat. "Why wouldn't I if I could do it?"

"Because it's not that simple," Dende said, sounding far more mature than usual. "I don't know a lot about it, but my people did and they frowned very heavily against it."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it's risky," he answered vaguely. "You are putting a lot of things at risk by going back to a fixed point in your own personal timeline just to change one thing."

"Well how bad would it be to change one thing?" she asked. "Wouldn't the entire universe play out all over again the way it will anyway?"

"Only the events that aren't directly related to the changes you may make," he replied. "You changing one thing though could change the outcome of the entire universe if you're not careful. Despite good intentions, you could make it worse. It's not worth it. Things generally happen for a reason."

"Well Vegeta-sei might still be standing if we had done things differently. Maybe Vegeta would have won if he had been forewarned or better prepared so it would have changed that," she reasoned. "What about yourself? I'm sure there's things you've thought you would do differently if you could so you wouldn't have ended up here.

"You told me that you found Gero and he took you and forced you to help him and took you from your home. What if you could go back and leave yourself a note to warn yourself to not leave your house that day or if you do, don't go anywhere alone or if you come across Gero to keep going and not help him."

Dende nodded in understanding from where she was coming from but still was not convinced. "You don't understand, it would be wrong of me to not help someone in need, not to mention horribly selfish to make a change like that and knowingly let someone die."

"Okay, I can kind of see what you mean, but if you hadn't helped Gero, he would have maybe died and then he would have never found Cold and King Cold would have never known that it was Vegeta who killed Frieza and he wouldn't have waged war on Vegeta-sei so it would still be standing. Not only that, but the androids would have never been built either without Gero in the picture and King Cold wouldn't be getting ready to terrorize the rest of the universe with them. So you're essentially not being selfish. Everything would be exactly as it was before you were taken! You would still be home with your own people and Vegeta and I would be wherever; happy, safe and sound raising Trunks. None of us would be here."

Dende was quiet as she explained the advantages to him. He didn't say anything after a long moment before he started to cry. "So all of this is my fault!" he cried, looking up at her in horror.

"Oh no, Dende, sweetie, no!" she said frantically dropping a piece of equipment that was in her hand and rushing to give him a hug. "No, no. None of this is your fault! That's not at all what I meant! I was just thinking about how things would be different is all." It was the truth. She felt horribly now for spinning things that way. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Dende. He was the closest thing to a friend she had in this place and she regretted now letting her mouth run without thinking first about how he may have interpreted her rambling.

"But you said-"

"Ya, forget about what I said," she sighed. "I was only using it as an example of the good things we could do with this, not to make you feel bad.

"I screwed up too, you know. If I had left when Vegeta had wanted me to or if I hadn't gone with him to Vegeta-sei at all, things would be different," she said and looked darkly at the floor. Vegeta's father might still be alive, she added silently herself.

"I get what you are saying but it's still a bad idea," he sniffed. "We could get into a lot of trouble if anyone found out."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take if it means changing my life course even a little bit," she said determinedly. She would do this with or without Dende's help she decided. "Besides, who could possibly find out?"

"Uhm, the galactic time patrol police?" he replied as though she were stupid.

"There's police for this kind of thing?" she asked.

"Do you really think you're the first person in the universe to think of this or try to make it happen to change a few things?" he deadpanned.

"I don't know," she shrugged, slightly annoyed with the tone at which he had said that to her. "Probably not. But not everyone is as brilliant as I am either. There's a big difference between thinking about it and wishing it was possible and actually doing it, you know." She said feigning an arrogant tone.

Dende shook his head at her, unimpressed and not getting that she was only half jesting. "It's a good idea, but honestly not worth the effort if we get caught and it wouldn't change anything anyway."

"What do you mean it wouldn't change anything anyway?"

"What do you think would happen here with all that's happened?" he asked her. "Sure you can go back and change whatever you want but that won't change the outcome here. This timeline will play out as intended. No amount of time travel will alter it or change it or undo it."

So it was a waste of her time, she realized, feeling deflated. "So then what's the big deal? Why is it illegal?"

"Because if you go back to a fixed point in your personal timeline, you automatically create another parallel universe that doesn't need to exist and wouldn't otherwise. It's tampering with unnatural forces," Dende explained. "You could create a whole bunch of universes all branching out in different directions. What if you go back to warn yourself and so they take a different path and it turns out worse. So then they decide to figure out how to travel back in time to go back and warn themselves to not do what they did? Now there are three identical but different parallel universes operating and so on and so forth. You could be creating a bad pattern here and before you know it, there could be ten negative outcome parallel universes running simultaneously. That's why it isn't a good idea and that's why it's illegal."

Bulma continued to sit there, mulling over Dende's warnings and concerns. She knew she should be taking it seriously and what he'd told her should be deterring her from this path, however the only thing standing out to her was it is possible, it can be done. That was the only thought that seemed to be overriding everything else. She knew it was selfish to not care about the rest of the universe and the potential chaos she may cause by doing this but she almost didn't care. Knowing that there was another universe out there where she and Vegeta and the boys were safe and happy was worth the risk enough, in her opinion.

"You're still going to do it, aren't you," Dende said, noting the determined look on her face.

"If I can fix things for a past version of my family, then yes. I will," she replied in finality.

"If you're caught though-"

Bulma shrugged indifferently. "What does it matter? If I get caught and arrested it can't be any worse than what I'm facing now," she reasoned stubbornly. "You think I'm happy here, like this? I'm already practically in jail; so is my husband if I think about it. I work like a slave for Gero and Cold during the day and at night I don't get any peace because I have to whore myself out to that pig so that he will let me interact with my boys. Believe me, going to a galactic jail would probably be better if not the same so it's a risk I'm more than willing to take. You don't have to help me if you are against it, morally; but please don't stop me."

Dende looked at her and shook his head. He felt for her, he really did. He pretended like he didn't know what was going on between her and Jeyice, but he knew there was something wrong going on there. Her whole attitude and demeanour had changed since that had started. Not to mention she had made him go and get a remedy for her so that she would not get pregnant by him.

"I'll even mention you to my past self to either have someone send a message to your people to come and rescue you or if Vegeta does come here anyway to make sure he comes here to find you first before blowing this place up," she offered.

"You're still playing a very dangerous game, Bulma," he sighed, though he did appreciate the gesture. "Have you given any thought of how you're getting out of here with the boys and Vegeta?"

"No," she sighed. "Unfortunately that has me stumped. I can't get out of the lab unless Jeyice convinces King Cold to let me move in with him and I can't do that, Dende; I just can't. I don't care that strategically it may be a better option. It's bad enough pretending here nearly every night that I want him when he comes around; I can't live my whole life like that. I'll kill myself if that happens."

Dende nodded in agreement. "I won't help you with your time project, but I will help you with an escape plan if you are still in agreement on taking me with you."

"Of course I will!" she said. "I already told you that if I'm getting out of here, you're coming with us. You're as much a hostage here as we are."

"Alright," Dende nodded. "I need to get some rest. You should too, it's getting really late."

"I know," she agreed, yawning. She hadn't realized how tired she actually was until he mentioned it. "Thanks, Dende."

"What are you thanking me for?" he asked in puzzlement.

"For letting me talk to you and understanding what it is I'm trying to do, even if you don't agree with it."

"I'd help you, but I really don't want to be an accomplice," he replied.

"That's fair," she nodded. "If you help us get out of here, I'll love you forever."

Dende smiled as he exited her room for the evening.

Bulma stood there in silence for several seconds before capsulizing her work. She was more than happy that she had confirmation that not only was it possible, but that it could work. It saddened her that it didn't matter what she did to change the past because it wouldn't change her current life, but that was alright. She would gladly try to change things for her past self and Vegeta.

"If we only knew then what we know now," she said quietly to herself as she hid her capsule away and started towards her bedroom, forgetting all about her tea.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> Sorry for the delay, guys! I've been tied up with about a million things. I have not abandoned this story. Even if it's long between updates- I cannot believe it's been 4 months! I don't think I've ever gone that long between updating and I'm sorry! I have been writing for later chapters though, so that is something!
> 
> I did have horrible writer's block as of late between being bogged down with a crazy work load and my dad in the hospital, it tends to really stifle a person's motivation, positivity and creativity. In an effort to work through it, I started writing a B&V one shot that then turned into a mini fic. It takes place during the 7 year gap between Cell and Buu. It's called Falling Away With You. Yes, I know… Another Muse song. Ha haa! I'm such a loser… Anyway, it's helped me work through some depression and writer's block that I've been trying so hard to climb out of. Feel free to check it out. No, I have by no means ditched or abandoned this story for that one… This story is my main focus, and my baby. I want to give it a thousand percent and when I'm down and cannot give that, I focus on something else a little lighter and less serious. Anyhow, feel free to check it out! I've had a lot of fun with it, surprisingly enough.. I will try to work harder on this as well so it's not so long between updates.
> 
> In any case… Sorry for the long Author's note! I try to keep them simple… Thank you all for sticking with me and this story. Thank you so much for being patient!
> 
> Enjoy!

_**C**_ _ **hapter** _ _**32** _

They finally landed on their destination planet and were ready to go. It had taken them a few weeks longer than expected to get there. They had found themselves stuck in the middle of a severe asteroid storm.

They boys had found it exciting, but it had been anything but to everyone else. The ship had taken on a few critical hits and they had needed to navigate out of it and find a planet to make the appropriate repairs before continuing. The repairs themselves had taken a week and then it had been an extra week's travel to get there from the planet they had been on.

"Alright, boys listen up," Jeyice said as he walked into the room where the boys were suiting up and getting ready to exit the ship and begin their first mission. "Neither of you is to leave my sight at any point during the mission. You will follow my orders to a T and you are not to speak to anyone unless spoken to and even then you are to remain silent."

"Alright," both boys nodded.

"I can't wait to blow some shit up!" Trunks said enthusiastically.

"No, this is more of a diplomatic mission," Jeyice said. "There will be no blowing of shit up without my expressed permission to do so and even then, you are _observers only_. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they nodded in disappointment. They had worked really hard in the last few weeks and really wanted to let loose and try their new skills out.

Even the planet they had been to while the ship had been getting repairs had been boring because Jeyice hadn't allowed them to do anything but train. He had left them to go off and do his own thing, leaving them in their room with whoever he chose to babysit them and they were only allowed out for meals.

They remembered what Bulma had told them about restaurants and decided that they liked them. They could order whatever they wanted instead of eating the same slop that was available on the ship day in and day out. They had made a point of ordering something different for each meal and even ordered different things individually so they could sample each other's meals. There were a few food items they did enjoy back home on Cold's base, but none of it had compared to anything that they had devoured on that planet.

So while this mission had so far been painfully boring to them, at least the food had been a highlight.

"Awe, come on Jeyice, it's their first mission, Recoome said. "They should be allowed to have a little fun."

"You are not to undermine me any further, Recoome." Jeyice said sternly.

"Yes, sir," Recoome nodded.

"We are here to collect a payment for protecting these people from planets stronger than them. It was a good arrangement until they fell behind on their payments. Now Cold wants payment in full and we are to wash our hands of them. They are to fend for themselves after this." Jeyice explained.

They exited the ship and made their way to the palace, which was located not far from the landing dock. The planet was clearly a water planet and was very humid. From what the boys could see, there were lakes and oceans everywhere. All the buildings were built on platforms on top of the vast water plain. There was little to no vegetation from what the boys noticed and they wondered what these people ate?

"We are here to see King Geralt," Jeyice said to the two guards at the front of the palace. They were both very tall and almost gangly in appearance, mostly humanoid, with light blue skin and long dark hair pulled back. It was apparent that physically they couldn't have been very strong and it made sense to the boys as to why they would need to pay for protection. They did not wear much for armour either and had spears at their sides. "We have been sent from King Cold to discuss business."

"The King is away taking care of a few matters off planet," one of the guards informed him.

"Then who may I speak with in his stead?" Jeyice asked impatiently.

The two guards looked at each other before the first guard replied. "You may speak with our queen. She is more than capable of handling any type of business dealings you may have while King Geralt is away."

"When is he set to return?" Jeyice asked.

"That is unknown and we are not privy to his-"

"It's above your pay grade, I get it," Jeyice rudely interrupted him. "Very well, I shall speak with your queen then,"

Both guards nodded and the one who had spoken to them lead them into the palace which was plain but elegant.

The walls were a shimmery, iridescent silver color that was almost glass-like and were warped, giving the appearance that they were under water, being that the floors were a shiny blue and it reflected against the walls so the blue blended into the walls and lightened up into the silver in a sort of ombre effect. There was the odd aquatic plant in pots here and there sporadically by the entry ways of some of the doors, but that was it for decoration. Altogether it was almost serene and the boys had never seen such a beautiful building.

They were lead into a large, equally elegant but plainly decorated room and instructed to wait for the queen.

The walls were devoid of any decoration, with the exception of two portraits at the end of the room, presumably of the royal family.

The portrait on the left featured a regal-looking couple. They both appeared to be tall and gangly, just like the two guards they had met with outside.

They both had long, black hair. The male's was shoulder length from the look of it and his skin was a darker blue than that of the woman next to him. Her skin color was lighter, almost a teal color and her dark hair was longer than her mate's cascading in curls behind her back. They were both a good looking couple.

The picture next to them was of thee woman, assumed to be their daughters. Two of them had the look and light skin tone of their mother; the other was darker and took more after the father.

Jeyice paced impatiently as they waited, grumbling rude slurs about the native inhabitants and the planet to himself.

Finally, after several more long minutes the guard returned. "Our queen will be out momentarily,"

"Hopefully not _too_ much longer," Jeyice snipped, rudely.

The guard didn't say anything further, only exited the room from the entrance of where they came.

"We should just torch this useless dump," Jeyice said quietly to Recoome in annoyance. "Making us wait like this,"

"It's not so bad," Burter shrugged. "The planet I'm from is much like this,"

"Small wonder why it was destroyed and you ended up with us," Jeyice snorted as he walked up to the two portraits on the wall. "However, were the woman as pleasing to the eye as these ones?"

"I cannot recall," he shrugged.

"We could always take the women with us as payment and have a party on the way back," he suggested, looking closely at the portrait of the three daughters. "Which one do you boys prefer?" he asked Trunks and Tarble, turning to them.

They weren't sure how to react or what Jeyice even meant.

"They're all very pretty," Trunks shrugged.

"That they are," he nodded, walking back to them. "You are too young to even know what to do with them,"

Trunks scowled at him at the insult.

They heard the door opening from the door where the guard had gone through when he'd first brought them to this room.

"Hang on to that," Jeyice said, taking his scouter off and tossing it at the boys, which neither of them knew which one he was aiming for so they both went for it and it fell in the ground.

Jeyice rolled his eyes and shook his head at them and Trunks nudged it with his foot towards him.

"Stand up straight and look presentable," Jeyice hissed at him for attempting to pick up the scouter.

Trunks stood up, leaving the scouter on the floor, in front of him. He would grab it when they left.

"I apologize for the wait," the queen said, walking into the room. On an in person observation, her hair was actually a dark navy blue rather than black. It flowed straight and was elbow length and she wore a loose-fitting long, white, dress. "What can I help you with?"

"I was sent from King Cold to collect your outstanding payment for services rendered," Jeyice said, though he had a feeling she already knew exactly who he was and why he was there.

"Very well," she said, handing him an envelope. "I'm afraid this is all we can pay at the moment. Please accept this as final payment and we will no longer be in need of King Cold's services. Please apologize to him on my husband's behalf for our lateness in payment, however we are under great financial crisis at the moment."

"King Cold doesn't give a shit about your money problems," he said coldly, snatching the envelope from her and looking into it. "And this is not even _close_ to settling the outstanding balance,"

"Well that's all we have to offer and that's all you'll get," she replied, firmly, standing tall, refusing to back down. "Take it or leave it."

Jeyice smirked at her as he looked her up and down in a manner that made her very aware that he was mentally undressing her with his eyes. "I wouldn't say it's _all_ you have to offer," he leered suggestively.

"You disgusting little man!" she spat at him.

"I'm open to negotiating, are you?" he asked quietly, taking a few steps towards her in an attempt to make their conversation a bit more private.

"Absolutely not! Get out!"

"You see, you could do your planet and your people a favor by simply giving me a few minutes of your time in a back chamber somewhere or even right here in front of everyone, it matters little to me," he sighed casually into her ear. "However you are a proud woman, I can see. We can finish the fine details of our little transaction in private where no one has to know. I will then take the payment that you have and wipe the slate clean with Cold, you'll owe him nothing more. Refuse me, and me and my men will destroy this place, citizen by citizen, brick by brick and take only you and your lovely daughters back with us; my men would love some entertainment on the way back and we are in terrible need of fresh blood in our harem and a rather fat bounty for your king's head will be set and believe you me, he will be found quickly and efficiently. The demise of Vegeta-sei has left everyone rather hungry these days."

She gave him a murderous look, knowing that he was right. As it was, they could barely afford the payment they were making to Cold. Her husband was usually very good in his business dealings, but this time he had not made the right choice. She had advised him not to make this arrangement with Cold, but he had not taken her words of advice.

She nodded stiffly. "Alright," she whispered between grit teeth. "But you are to leave immediately and _nothing_ is to happen to my daughters. Understood?"

Jeyice smiled. "Understood," he nodded, stepping away from her. "Alright, we have come to an agreement, you all are to leave, go back to the ship while the queen and I finalize our agreement and I collect payment."

"Awe, that's it?" Trunks huffed. "This was boring."

Tarble shrugged. "Yea, it was but I didn't want to blow this place up. It's really nice here," he said quietly to Trunks.

"You want us to _all_ go back?" Recoome asked, put out.

"Yes, that's what I said, wasn't it?"

"Alright, everyone," Burter nodded, indicating for the two boys to follow him.

They all made it back to the ship rather quickly. Recoome wanted to eat and Burter was waiting on the score of some kind of game he had bet on.

"This was a waste of time," grumbled Burter as they boarded the ship. "No wonder Jeyice is in such a pissy mood."

"Not for long," Recoome chuckled. "It's a shame he dismissed us. It's been a while since I had decent tail."

"You know he doesn't share," Burter told him. "That's the only thing he ever has on his mind. Mark my words, Recoome, it's going to get him into trouble one of these days."

"You're probably right," he nodded. "But it pisses me off that he always gets first pick, you know? Captain Ginyu used to reward us all regularly where the feminine spoils were concerned."

"Speak for yourself," Burter snorted.

"It's not my fault your race doesn't..."

"Enough," he growled.

"Right, well I still don't think it's fair. He keeps Vegeta's woman all to himself and won't share-"

"Not in front of the boys you idiot!" Burter whispered hoarsely to him, pointing to the boys who had followed then into the kitchen area.

"You boys should go back to your quarters and wait for Jeyice," Recoome advised them. He had forgotten all about them.

The boys were already disappointed enough that this mission hadn't been very exciting so they shrugged and went to their quarters as told.

"This is lame," Trunks sighed.

"Ya," Tarble agreed, taking his boots off. "Hey, was Recoome talking about mom?"

"I don't know," Trunks shrugged with a frown. Recoome's comment bothered him but he wasn't sure what he'd meant by it and they'd been told to leave before he could ask about it. "Oh crap,"

"What?" Tarble asked in alarm.

"I left Jeyice's scouter on the floor of the room we were in," he said.

"Seriously?"

"Ya," he nodded.

"Jeyice is going to be pissed!" Tarble exclaimed.

"Ya, we'd better go back and get it," Trunks sighed, heading back out the door.

"How are we going to do that?"

"By going back and getting it, dummy," Trunks sighed. "Be quiet, they'll hear us,"

"Shouldn't we ask Recoome to come with us?"

"Are you kidding?" Trunks snorted. "We'll be in trouble for sure then!"

They stood in the hall a moment, listening to Burter and Recoome conversing about trading players of some game league.

When they were sure they could sneak out of the ship unnoticed, they scurried out as quickly as possible and made their way back towards the palace.

"I can't believe you left Jeyice's scouter there on the floor!" Tarble reprimanded his brother.

"Shut up," Trunks shot back. "You could have grabbed it too,"

"Ya well I tried to catch it when he threw it at us and you got in my way,"

"Well if _you_ hadn't gotten in _my_ way, I'd have caught it," Trunks insisted. "Whatever, we'll get it."

Tarble huffed in annoyance at Trunks. It didn't matter what it was, when he messed up, he always found a reason why it was also Tarble's fault as well. "How are we going to get past the guard? Should we tell him we left something in the room?"

"No way, he'll tell Jeyice," Trunks shook his head. They both hid against a pillar as they considered what to do next.

"The other guy didn't come back yet, why don't I distract him by throwing a ki ball into the water and you sneak in?" Tarble suggested.

"Okay," Trunks nodded. "You're quicker. Just don't launch too big of a ki ball or they'll call in for more guys,"

"Right," Tarble nodded, levitating into the air and keeping his body close to the wall of the palace while approaching the guard.

Meanwhile, Trunks tiptoed closer to the entrance and held his breath as Tarble stopped right above the guard. He hoped they wouldn't be caught. The last thing they wanted to do was make Jeyice angry on their first mission. What if he never brought them out on another? Tarble had been working really hard on controlling his ki manipulation. This would prove if he had improved or not, though he was fairly confident that he could do this. The biggest problem was that he tended to over think it.

Tarble paused a moment, making sure the guard hadn't noticed him and then launched three small ki balls into the body of water, one after another.

The guard reacted as they had hoped and ran to the end of the entrance of the palace where the body of water began. He observed the water cautiously, scanning the horizon for anything that may be a miss.

Tarble then sent another two blasts out into the water, scattering them so as to deflect the guard's peripheral vision away from where the door was.

Trunks booked it towards the now unguarded door and snuck in with ease. Wanting to make sure they would not be caught, Tarble launched two more ki balls before dropping to the ground himself and going in after Trunks, who was standing not far from the door, waiting for him.

"Good job," Trunks said with a smirk.

"Thanks," Tarble nodded, standing tall. "Let's go!"

They crept around the hall, trying to find their way back to the meeting room but there were so many doors, they couldn't remember which one was which.

"I think it's this one, Trunks," Tarble whispered at a double set of doors where there was a large exotic plant next to the door frame.

"Are you sure?"

"Reasonably," he nodded. "I needed to pee really badly and I remember wanting to just quickly go in the plants but didn't because I didn't want to get in trouble,"

Trunks laughed at him. "I told you to go before we went out,"

Tarble frowned at him briefly before opening one of the doors just a crack to make sure it was the right place, which it was. "Here we are, and there it is,"

"Great," Trunks sighed in relief as they both walked into the empty room to pick up Jeyice's scouter, they heard a muffled moan.

"What was that?" Tarble whispered.

"I don't know," Trunks shrugged, putting the scouter in his pocket so he wouldn't lose it again. "Sounds like a wounded animal or something,"

"Should we find out?"

"Nah," Trunks shook his head. "We'll be in trouble if they notice we're gone. What if Jeyice is back already?"

"You're right," Tarble agreed. They both began back towards the doors when they heard a slap and an accented voice.

"You like that, bitch?" it leered and there was another muffled cry, though it was difficult to tell if it was in agreement or not. It didn't sound like it to the boys.

They looked at each other before booking it down to the end of the room where there was another door, curiosity taking over common sense. The door was opened just a crack. They stood there a moment, debating on whether or not they should investigate. All they could hear was a rhythmed slapping sound and the odd grunt.

Trunks shrugged and pulled on the handle just enough to open the door a little more; enough to peek inside.

What they saw was the queen with the top of her dress hanging down around her waist and the bottom of her dress up around her waist, bent over a desk and Jeyice with his pants down to his ankles, pumping his hips into her quickly from behind. One of his hands was in her hair on the back of her head, pulling her head up to look at him and the other was pulling on a breast.

They weren't sure what they were witnessing, but it was clear that the queen was not happy with what Jeyice was doing and they weren't sure if they should intervene or remain silent. They stood there, petrified, unable to move as they watched.

"You know you like it," he said to her, removing his hand from her breast and slapping her ass hard. "Don't pretend you don't."

"Just get on with it, you filth!" she snarled back between grit teeth. "When my husband finds out,"

"He's not going to find out, is he?" Jeyice said, ramming himself harder into her. "I'll deny the whole thing. 'An if you do tell him, I'll tell Cold that you seduced me. That you pulled my pants down and put my cock in your mouth and I simply couldn't resist. Sure I'll have to sit through a boring disciplinary hearing about it, but it will be worth it. You're rumored to be one of the most beautiful women in the universe, what man could resist such a woman throwing herself at him? I tell him that, he will destroy this shit dump of a planet in a second!"

She didn't say anything more, just closed her eyes and waited for him to finish, which he did, rather quickly after that.

"Do we have an understanding, love?" he asked as he pulled out of her.

"Yes," she replied emotionlessly.

"Trunks, we have to go!" Tarble whispered.

"Good," Jeyice said, tenderly kissing her on her bare shoulder. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Yeah," Trunks agreed as they both quietly stepped away from the door and booked it across the room and back into the hallway. They speedily made their way back to the entry way of the palace and back to the ship, hoping their absence wouldn't have been noticed.

Thankfully, it wasn't. No one was waiting there. Burter and Recoome were in the lunch room arguing over some lost bet. Feeling nothing but relief, they headed to their room and closed the door.

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Trunks asked Tarble, both boys having the same disturbed look of disgust on their faces.

"I don't know, but I don't think it was good," Tarble said, frowning. He almost wished they hadn't gone back to get the scouter; or if they had, just left and not checked to see what those noises had been.

Trunks didn't say anything, he was just staring at the floor as he played the image over and over again in his mind. Something about it was nagging in the back of his mind that not only had they witnessed something they shouldn't have, but that what Jeyice had done was very wrong. "I think we just saw something wrong."

"I think so too but why would Jeyice do something bad?" Tarble asked. "Maybe that's how deals are made?" Though even he had his doubts that this was legitimate.

"You have my scouter?" Jeyice asked as he abruptly walked into their room.

They both were somewhat startled and hoped he hadn't heard them talking about what happened. They both looked at each other as they noticed he had a distinct smell all over him. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it permeated the air around him and reminded them both of how he smelled after seeing their mother for some reason.

"Yes," Trunks spoke up a moment later, taking the scouter out from his pocket and handing it to him. "So is that it?"

"Is what it?" he asked, taking his scouter and putting it back on his right ear.

"That's the mission?" Trunks clarified.

"That's it," Jeyice smirked. "Why, was it not what you had in mind?"

"No," Trunks shook his head. "I just thought it would be more fun is all,"

"Yea, we didn't get to do anything or test our skills," Tarble said. He felt torn. Part of him was glad it had been fairly straight forward and that they hadn't been required to fight or kill anyone but there was a part of him that had been looking forward to resting his strength and he hadn't had the chance to do that. He knew Trunks felt the same way.

"Well, not every mission you get sent on is a purging mission. Some are just about collection money that is owed to King Cold," Jeyice explained. "Some of these back water dumps are so far behind on payments that Cold simply wishes to wash his hands of them. Like this one,"

"So did the queen make the payment?" Trunks asked hesitantly, unsure of he wanted to know all the angles there. It wasn't sitting right with him.

"I suppose you could say she did," he smirked. "Some payments aren't made in monetary currency."

The boys looked at each other a moment it dawning on them both at the same moment that maybe the agreement he had made with their mother wasn't in cash payments as they had assumed.

"You should have your mother explain it to you when you see her next," he snorted. "She knows all about the different types of _alternative_ currency."

"What type of payment did you get from her then?" Tarble asked with a frown, not wanting to think what he had a feeling it was, but need to know.

"Let's just say she is very creative," he replied after a moment's thought.

"So if they didn't have the full payment that King Cold needs and only paid what they had isn't that a bad thing?"

"It is, Cold will not be happy," he agreed. "That's their own bloody fault. Don't be surprised if we're back in a few months to destroy this dump."

"King Cold is going to be that upset?"

"Yea, he's going to be pissed," he nodded. "These roaches have been pissing around for a few years, not paying up and making excuses for a long time. You know what?"

"What?"

"You boys are absolutely right, this has been a rather boring mission for your first of many," Jeyice said thoughtfully. "Come with me,"

They paused to look at each other before following Jeyice out of their room and into the cockpit of the ship, where the pilot was getting ready to take off.

"Have a seat," Jeyice instructed them and they took their seats, settling in for take-off.

-0-0-0-

It had been two full months since the boys had been gone with Jeyice and Bulma hadn't heard a word.

He had mentioned that they would be gone a month or two at the most. It had been two months. Why weren't they back yet? Was everything okay?

She had asked Gero to inquire about the boys last week but he either hadn't or no one had given him any information. She couldn't leave the lab either and when she had sent Dende out to inquire but he hadn't been able to find anything out either.

So she put all her thoughts and efforts into her projects. The stealth coating was finished and she was ready to begin applying it.

It still wasn't what King Cold wanted, but he finally agreed that it was better than nothing at this point and a step in the right direction. However he still expected her to come up with what he originally wanted: a way to turn his soldiers invisible.

She still thought it was ridiculous, but the way she looked at it, it was something to keep her mind busy and occupied. When she didn't have anything else to do, she'd spend her time having one-sided conversations with Vegeta and while she did talk to him every day, in hopes that he somehow could hear her through the cloud of his coma, there were moments where it did nothing but make her feel worse.

She missed him terribly.

His not being able to converse she figured was both a blessing and a curse. If he didn't know what was going on, she hoped he was blissfully sleeping and unaware of everything that was happening. It was purely for selfish reasons she wished she could converse with him.

She was still working on the time machine but had hit a wall where that was concerned and she was growing discouraged with it and beginning to feel that it was nothing more than a silly piped dream she had concocted.

The time machine itself was finished. She was proud of the design. It was small and compact. It could only accommodate one occupant, which was all she had wanted. The controls were simple. There was still the problem of powering it, as she was afraid that it could only make a one way trip. However, she wasn't overly concerned about that. She was fairly confident that she could easily remedy that.

It was the principle of figuring out the time travel itself that was leaving her feeling discouraged. She had no idea where to even begin or how to accomplish it.

Usually in the case of physics and mathematical theories, she was an ace and could come up with something easily but with this, nothing was coming to her. Nothing of any use anyway.

So she had taken a break on the time machine project to give herself some distance. It wouldn't be the first time she walked away from a project temporarily only to come back to it and realize the solution was something so simple she should have been able to figure it out in the first place.

Since doing that, she'd turned her attentions to finding creative ways of potentially getting out of sleeping with Jeyice.

She had gotten Dende to acquire for her an edible body lotion from the harem. From there, she began creating a sleep remedy. It wasn't finished _yet._ But the bright side to Jeyice not being back yet was that it was giving her more time to develop her concoction, which was trickier than she had originally thought it would be.

She needed a drug that could knock him out quickly and efficiently but not have him feel the after effects of grogginess the next morning. The last thing she wanted was for him to figure out that he had been drugged, nor did she want to overdose and kill him.

No, she had no qualms on him not existing, but she was certain that if she was deemed responsible for his death, she would have no chance of ever getting out of here.

She knew she knew she couldn't rely on drugging him every time he wanted to use her, but if she could use this once in a while to avoid it, that would go a long way towards preserving her peace of mind.

Bulma finished mixing the last of the stealth paint intended for the androids. Today she was going to paint one of them and King Cold was going to look over it as a prototype before wanting the rest of them painted, if it was to his liking. It had taken a lot of work making a durable, thick paint that would hopefully have an even application. She had added in a thick gel she had discovered in hopes that it would self-level and cure quickly under a UV bulb they had in the lab. The bonus of adding gel to the formula was that it would harden and be less likely to chip off in a battle, so that would mean less reapplications.

She walked up to the android she was given to use as a prototype, placed a sheet on the floor, sat down in front of it and began painting it, letting her mind wander aimlessly about other things and a happier time.

-0-0-0-

As soon as they were out of the planet's atmosphere, Jeyice instructed the pilot to stop the ship. "This should be far enough,"

"Far enough for what?" the pilot asked in apprehension, turning to look at the orange lieutenant.

"You'll soon find out," he replied. "Boys, come here,"

They did, curious as to what Jeyice had planned.

"Now look here at that planet," he told them, pointing to it. It was a nearly all blue sphere hanging alone in the blackness of space. No clouds or blips or blemishes on it, it was perfect. "As you go on more missions and such you will encounter all sorts of planets and cultures. Some are armed to the teeth, like us and then there are idiots like this that leave themselves wide open to attack as though they haven't a fear in the universe."

They nodded, not quite getting his point.

"Ya but you said they pay for protection," Trunks pointed out.

"Some do," he agreed. "And we do offer them protection. Except some of them then default on the payments and then we have a problem because you cannot expect something for nothing,"

"So then you stop protecting them?" Tarble shrugged.

"In most cases, yes," he nodded, flicking a few switches on the console. "Though there has been an increase in planets that are not paying for our services anymore,"

"Why?"

"Who knows?" Jeyice shrugged. "However I think it is time we made an example of one of these roach back water dumps. You boys agreed that you were bored, did you not?"

"Well yea," Trunks nodded. "But they settled everything with you, didn't they?"

Jeyice smirked. "In a manner of speaking, yes, however they did not pay the full amount for services rendered and this keeps happening. I think we need to make a statement that will scream loud and clear throughout the galaxy that defaulting on payments to King Cold for _anything_ is unacceptable. It won't be long and we will be bankrupt for non-payment and using up all our resources to protect those that do not deserve to be."

"So what do we do?" Tarble asked. "Send them to jail?"

"No," he shook his head. "We obliterate them,"

"But you told the queen that no harm would come to them," Trunks pointed out.

"I lied," Jeyice shrugged and pushed a red button on the console. "Watch closely," he admonished as a bright beam flew from the ship down towards the perfect blue planet. "They won't even know what hit them. You know your father's planet was destroyed in this exact same fashion."

They gasped as they watched the beam hit the planet. All was quiet for a moment and they wondered if it had snuffed itself out before actually hitting the planet. No, a moment later it shattered into a million pieces of rock and within seconds there was nothing more than a dust cloud in its place.

"A very merciful and kind way to go if you ask me," Jeyice said unsympathetically. "With a purge it's nothing more than chaos and a headache; whining and begging and snivelling to be saved; you'll see one of these days and you'll understand why this is the cleaner option."

They stood there, gaping in shock at what Jeyice had just done, neither of them knowing what to say or think or feel on the matter. Suddenly the idea of destruction of another planet was less appealing.

"Now watch this," Jeyice said to them, bringing up the com screen. "Get ready for commendation on a job well done."

They waited until King Cold himself appeared on the screen. "Report," he said.

"King Cold, my lord, I am checking in with an update with regards to our mission," Jeyice said to the com screen. "We are on our way back to you now,"

"Excellent," Cold nodded. "I am under the impression that they did not pay? I see that you found reason to destroy the planet."

"That's right," Jeyice nodded. "Their king, Geralt, is off planet. They did not have the payment and the queen was rather uncooperative despite the threat of destruction so we destroyed it. However the king is still out there somewhere. What will you have us do?"

Both Trunks and Tarble looked at each other in confusion. Jeyice had apparently taken half of the required payment and had made alternate arrangements for form of payment in a different manner that they both suspected was wrong. Why would he not tell King Cold about the money he did happen to get and that the queen paid the rest by letting Jeyice have her body? It only confirmed to both of them that the whole mission was wrong. If it wasn't, why was Jeyice lying?

Cold thought for a moment before responding. "I have it on good authority that he has been making plans behind my back and forging other alliances with those who are banding together in a pathetic attempt to over throw me. Did you check their financials before destroying them?"

"No, my lord," he replied. "I did not think to. I took her word for it that they had fallen under financial ruin."

"I see," Cold nodded. "Do not return here just as of yet. I may have another job for you."

"Yes, sir,"

"I must speak with you in private with regards to your instructions."

"Yes, sir," he nodded, turning to everyone, pilot included, indicating for them to leave.

"I want you to go to Eris*. I am confident that is where you will find King Geralt or if he is not there, that is where he will most likely take refuge once he is made aware of his planet's demise. That planet quit making payments around the same time King Geralt stopped paying us and I have heard rumours that that is where their rebel base is set up," Cold explained. "I want you to go down there as though you are looking to collect their outstanding balance, but first, I want you to lay low and observe them for a few weeks. I want to know the extent of this little rebellion. I want to know if I should be concerned or if they are nothing more than a band of idiots."

"Can do, my lord," Jeyice nodded. "We can remain outside the planet and observe the comings and goings at a distance where we will not be detected."

"Yes," Cold agreed. "But I want you to send the two Saiyans down there as well. They will be perfect for this job."

"Trunks and Tarble?" Jeyice asked, wanting to make sure he heard him right. "My lord, the boys are doing extremely well, however they are not ready to complete a mission on their own."

"They will not be completing it, you will. But I want you to send them down there. Make it look as though they crash landed and I want them to befriend the inhabitants of planet Eris and have them infiltrate this little rebellion."

"We can do that, my lord. However they are just boys."

"They are, but anyone can see that they are exceptionally strong. They are the last of their kind as everyone knows that the Saiyan race is no more. Do not have them hide their true identities. Planet Eris did have favourable relations with King Vegeta. They will recognize the boys as not only Saiyans, but as heirs to Prince Vegeta. They will be taken in, no questions asked. I want you to instruct them that they are to befriend these people and relay any and all information back to you. They are to tell them that they escaped from us and are seeking refuge. From there they will report back to you. Depending on their findings, you will either destroy the planet for their betrayal or simply collect their payment. Either way, I want you to check their books. I want to know who they are paying instead of me. They are weak. Even if they have no rebel group, they are paying _someone_ for protection. Maybe that someone is part of this group and that someone needs to be dealt with."

"Yes, my lord," Jeyice nodded. "We will turn the ship around. From our current location it should take us around three days travel to get there. I will brief the boys and prepare them."

"Excellent." King Cold nodded before severing their transmission.

Jeyice sighed as he thought a moment about what he had been asked to do. It wasn't the worst idea, but on second thought, they would need to stop someplace to replenish supplies before dropping the boys off. With the extra funds they had gotten from the queen that King Cold had no idea about, he had a feeling that it would be a very fruitful shopping trip.

"Set our course for the nearest trade planet," he said to the pilot once he let him back in to the cockpit. "We are going to need to replenish our supplies before we head out for a second mission."

"We aren't headed back to the base?" he asked.

"No, not yet," Jeyice told him, leaving to head back to his own quarters to take a shower.

-0-0-0-

Thanks for reading! I'll try my absolute hardest to not have the next update take so long.

* _Fun fact_ : Eris is an actual planet. It is the largest Dwarf Planet in our solar system. It is a little bigger than Pluto and was first discovered in 2003 and was named Xena, after the television series. It was not until 2005 that Eris was identified as another possible planet in our solar system. In 2006, astronomers decided that Eris should not be called a planet. They also decided that Pluto should no longer be called a planet. Both Eris and Pluto became known as dwarf planets. Observations of Eris have led scientists to believe it has frozen methane on its surface. Eris appears gray in color.


	33. Chapter 33

_**Butterflies & Hurricanes** _

_**C** _ _**hapter 33** _

Immediately following his conversation with King Cold, Jeyice went for a quick shower and sought out the boys at once. They were in their quarters, dressed down in their casual wear of tank tops and loose fitting gi pants.

"I have some news for you two," he said to them, closing their door.

"What is it?" Trunks asked, hoping that they were going home; he wanted to see his mother. The incident with the queen and the events that had followed had left him and Tarble both quite shaken up.

"You boys are to crash land from a space pod onto a planet called Eris," he informed them.

"Crash?" Tarble frowned.

"Yes, now listen closely, this _very_ important so you both better not fuck it up," he said sternly. "Now, King Cold is not happy with either of you, do you understand me?"

"Why? What did we do?" Tarble asked. They hadn't lied about what had really happened on that planet or about the fact that Jeyice _had_ gotten an actual payment from the queen.

"It doesn't matter, the point is, I need to find a way to get you boys off to safety. So you both are to crash down there and when help arrives, you two are to tell them that you escaped from King Cold's capture. Tell them your names and they will find you a place to stay. They were friends of your father and grandfather's. Once you both are settled in and feel it is safe to do so, you are to report back to me and I will join you and we will escape King Cold together, do you understand?"

"What about mom and dad?" Trunks asked.

"We can't help them unless we have people on our side to help us," Jeyice said quickly. He truthfully hadn't thought that much in detail about this. "Tell them about your parents and that you need help and then call me. I will give them all the information that they will need and we will all get out."

The boys looked confused but nodded anyway.

"If King Cold finds out that you are betraying him and you fail me on this, I will pull the plug on your father and cut up that whore of a mother in front of you both and bring you to Cold myself for him to deal with you. I will not take the fall alone."

Trunks glared at Jeyice. He hated that since they had been allowed to see Bulma on a regular basis, he used their parents against them into forcing them to do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to get away from King Cold so badly, why didn't he just come with them or why didn't he rescue their parents and meet them down on this planet with them?

"We won't," Tarble said before Trunks could question Jeyice; he felt the same way Trunks did about the threat against their parents. Of course they would do what they could to get them out of there!

"Alright, good."

"Except when do our parents get to be with us?" Trunks asked. "Why can't you go and get them and bring them to where we are going?"

"I will have it arranged," Jeyice shrugged casually. "Just make contact with the group that had an alliance with your father, make contact with me and I will bring them with me when I come to you. It will be as easy as that."

"Okay," they both said. Unsure, but if it was a chance to get out with their parents then maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

"Here," he said to them, giving them both a thick wad of cash. "That's for today."

"But won't King Cold want it?" Tarble asked in hesitation.

"He does not even know there was any cash payment," Jeyice snorted. "Think of this as a side bonus and keep it to yourselves. You may need it."

They both nodded as they each took their share.

"Do not tell Recoome or anyone else of this little transaction," he warned. "Nobody needs to know and if King Cold finds out, well, we will all be in a lot of trouble."

"We won't," they both said. The fact that Jeyice was giving them money to help them was encouraging that he was actually trying to help them and so they felt better about this plan.

"Good," he nodded. "Now get some rest. We will be making our way to a trade planet to pick up supplies and a few things you may need since you will be on your own."

They both nodded as Jeyice exited their room and closed the door.

He made his way to the lounging area where Recoome and Burter were watching a fight on the video monitor.

"Jeyice," Recoome called to him. "Did you place your bet? The main event is on next so if you were going to do it, better do it now."

Jeyice shrugged. "I'm not much of a betting man, Recoome,"

"Since when?" Recoome challenged him, looking at him with an even more dumbstruck look than usual.

"Since he started with Vegeta's woman," Burter snorted at him in distain. "He's been spending all his extras on furnishing his digs in hopes that she'll move in with him."

"Oh, riiight," Recoome nodded. "How's that working out for ya?"

Jeyice snarled at him in reply, his upper lip curling, exposing his upper teeth.

"Whoo wee," Burter chuckled at him.

"You know, I hear woman really get off on jewelry," Recoome suggested.

"Yea, but that's expensive," Burter snorted. "I don't get why you aren't finished with her. I know a couple of the guys, Recoome included, who wouldn't mind a go at her. Hell, you could probably make some side cash, selling her ass. Just move on, females aren't worth the hassle."

"Says the man who's never lain with one," Jeyice snarled back.

"It's not my fault my species doesn't have to copulate to reproduce," Burter shrugged. "I for one am thankful because I don't need the distraction."

"Ya, how does your species reproduce then?" Recoome asked with interest. "If ya don't do _it_ , then how?"

"We mate externally," he said as though it were a dumb question. "The female passes eggs and they are fertilized outside her body,"

"So… there is no penetration?" Recoome asked.

"No," he replied, clearly getting annoyed.

"What's the fun in that?"

"It's not meant for fun, it's meant to carry on the species! We were much more evolved than you barbaric, warm blooded mammals and your debased needs!"

"Enough!" Jeyice cut them off. "Who gives a shit!"

"You would if you heard your constant bitching and moaning over some female," Burter threw back at him. "I am sick to death of hearing it!"

"Ya, he has a point," Recoome agreed.

"Here's an extra bonus," Jeyice announced, tossing them each a thick wad of cash. "Do not say a word to anyone."

"Is this what that queen gave you?" Recoome asked.

"Yes," he replied, making sure the pilot wasn't near to eavesdrop on them. "This is strictly under the table, no record of it, do as you please with it."

"Hmm," Burter commented, thumbing through it. "This currency is very strong at the moment,"

"Whatever, I'm tossing it in the pot with the rest of my bet," Recoome shrugged, chucking it into a bowl they had on a table already full of bills, coins and a few expensive gem stones.

"You're that anxious to lose it?" Burter cackled at him.

"I'm not going to lose it," he shook his head confidently. "Draggos is a sure thing,"

"Just like Memnon was a sure thing?"

"That wasn't his fault he lost. That fight was rigged and someone payed off the ref to make a call like that!" he objected.

"Whatever," Burter shook his head. "It's a good thing you can't find a female, Recoome. You wouldn't be able to afford to woo her anyway with anything expensive since you piss it all away on shitty bets."

" _This_ ," he said, standing and cupping his male essentials crudely, "is all I need to woo the women,"

Jeyice shook his head and left them as they continued to bicker back and forth over how and how not to acquire women. He knew he had promised Bulma that he would find something to help her out with her invisibility cloaking devise that King Cold had asked her to work on. He had not forgotten. Truth is, he had yet to stumble on anything that would be of any help to her and for all he knew, she had already found a solution to it.

He would look for something special for her anyway once they landed. He needed to take the boys shopping for clothing and supplies anyway to make it look like they had run away.

They made it to a shop, trade and pleasure planet a week later, instead of three days as originally planned. With their unexpected windfall, Recoome and Burter wanted to gamble and drink excessively for a few days, and so he decided to indulge them.

The boys, of course were excited. They left she ship docks and walked through the streets where there was gambling, various games, restaurants, casinos and brothels.

Jeyice gave Recome and Burter their leave to do as they wished while Jeyice took the boys shopping.

"You may purchase a few things for yourself with the money I gave you from the mission," he told them, walking into one of the stores.

Of course, the boys were excited; they had never been shopping before. Jeyice had shown them how to figure out the conversion of everything the store had so they knew how much everything was and how much they had to spend.

"We could buy like the whole store, Trunks," Tarble said to him, looking at the price tags of everything, rather than looking at things he actually wanted or needed.

"I know, this is awesome!" Trunks replied, holding up a pair of loose fitting cargo pants. "Look at these,"

"Those are nice," Tarble agreed, picking up a pair for himself. "We could fit stuff in the pockets,"

"I was thinking that too and I'll bet they are more comfortable than out battle pants we wear all the time," Trunks said. "We could put capsules in them and stuff,"

"Yea, we should get a couple of pairs."

They each grabbed three pairs of the cargo pants and moved on to look at other things. Jeyice took them to another supplies store, in case they would be stranded for a while in the wilderness after the crash. He showed them a tent, blankets and supplies to carry water and food.

Satisfied they had everything they needed, he let them go on their own to grab a meal of their choice from the vast selection, which made them happy and they scampered off together to see what they could get.

He made his way down to the higher end of the shopping center, in search of something that could help Bulma out or even something special that he could give to her to prove his affections to her. He had noticed many times the set of rings Bulma always wore around her neck. He knew one was Vegeta's and the other was one that must have come from him. It was an absolutely beautiful ring, expensive as well from what he estimated when he'd looked at it a few times. Expense these days was not something that he worried about, it was finding something she would like just as much, if not more. He had never asked her about the ring, but he knew it meant a lot to her and it bothered him that she wore it around her neck at all times as though it were a constant reminder to him that someone else had been her cherished someone before him.

It bothered him.

And he was getting fresh out of ideas of how to make her want him that way. He had given her everything from allowing her to see her boys to offering to let her reside with him in his comfortable quarters rather than the dire, poorly accommodating room in the lab she had. He did have to hand it to her though, she had made good use of the minimal provisions she had been given and had made decent accommodations for herself all things considered. However in his mind she deserved much better. What would it take to get her to forget about the lifeless form of Vegeta in the regeneration tank and join him?

Jeyice walked into one jewelry shop that boasted to have only the rarest and best inventory in the entire galaxy. He looked around and found many gorgeous pieces and he would have been hard pressed to choose even one for her had he not had something very specific in mind.

"Do you need any help?" the store clerk asked him as he stopped to look closely at some rare gems even he had never seen before.

"I do, but I am unsure if you will be able to help me," he answered, not taking his eyes off one particular set of pink blush-colored stones set in platinum settings. "I am looking for something very specific,"

"Well, I can guarantee you that if we do not have it, it does not exist." the sales person boasted with an arrogant chuckle.

"Alright then," Jeyice snorted, looking up at the rather plump man with sallow green skin that looked to be damp from perspiration. "Someone very dear to me is a scientist and has been commissioned with a project. She is looking for something that will help her build a cloaking device. Are there any gems or stones or anything that will aid her in accomplishing this?"

"You are a member of the Planet Trade Organization, are you not?" the shop keeper asked suspiciously, looking at his uniform thoroughly.

"I am," he nodded. "She works for Kind Cold himself and it is he who has commissioned this impossible task to her,"

"I see, so this is not a project that would be treasonous towards King Cold?"

"Not in the least, in fact you would be assisting him and ensuring the safety of a lady who is extremely important to me," Jeyice said. "I fear her life is at risk should she fail in this project. King Cold can be rather temperamental when things do not go his way."

"So I have heard," the man nodded in concern. "Unfortunately, no, we do not carry such items, however I do know where you will find what you seek,"

"Where?" Jeyice asked.

"It will cost you," he said slyly. "If the owner of this fine establishment catches wind that I sent a potential buyer elsewhere, I am afraid it would be to my detriment."

"Why would I care what happens to you?" Jeyice snorted.

"Because I will not tell you where to find them," he shrugged. "They are not easily located, possibly not even on this planet for all you know and then this lady whom you profess to care so much for will never accomplish her project,"

Jeyice wasn't sure if the man was bluffing or not, but did not want to risk that he did know where to find what he was looking for and miss out on an opportunity to aid and impress Bulma. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Just a minimum purchase of at least two items in the case you are currently browsing through."

"These are the most expensive pieces in your whole bloody store!" he spat at him.

"Do you want to know or not?"

"Fine," he spat at him in resentment before going back to look at the items under the glass counter. "I suppose I'll take these ones," he said, pointing to the blush-colored stone pendant and matching earrings. They were beautiful and he was sure Bulma would like them but he could not believe that he was actually taking advice from Recoome with regards to trying to gain Bulma's affections.

"A very nice choice," the shop keeper nodded, taking them and wrapping them carefully in a fine tissue paper and placing them in a box together.

"Now where do I find something to accomplish a cloaking device?" he asked after paying him.

"If you head down the street that way," he started, pointing behind him, "and keep going until you reach a dead end, turn left and keep on that path until you see a small, unmarked, red tent. Go in and ask for Basa and tell her what you are looking for. If she does not have it, she will know where to get it."

"Right, and am I going to have to pay her as well to be told where to get it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"Alright," Jeyice nodded, exiting the shop and going in the direction he was told. The streets were busy and crowded. It took him a while to make it to the wall he had been told about and even longer to locate this unmarked red tent. He was almost beginning to wonder if this red tent even existed and if he had been duped when he finally saw it just before he was about to head back to the store he had just been to and throttle the store keeper for lying to him and ripping him off.

It was so small, he had to bend over to walk in. "I'm looking for Basa," he said, looking around but not seeing anyone.

From behind a covered box, draped in black fabric came a small creature with bulging eyes and yellowish skin. She was about three feet tall, hunched over and resembled some form of amphibious creature of which species, Jeyice did not know.

"I'm Basa," she croaked ironically.

"I was sent to you by another shop keeper because they said you may have what I am looking for," he said, skipping the introductions. As it was, he had left the boys for far too long.

"What is it you are looking for?"

"I need something that can render someone invisible to the naked eye. Something of a cloaking device," he explained, hoping she would know what he meant and had something he could use.

"No such thing exists," she said blandly and he sighed in disappointment even though he was not all that surprised. If something like this actually did exist, wouldn't everyone and his dog be using it? "I do, however, have perception filters,"

"What's a perception filter?" he asked, hopeful that maybe there was something that could help Bulma out after all.

"A perception filter is a form of mind control," she replied, sitting down in what looked like a beanbag chair. "It carries a telepathic effect to it that alters and misdirects the visual senses around its immediate vicinity."

"Okay?" he grunted. That didn't really answer his question and whether or not it could be of any use to Bulma.

"If someone were to carry a perception filter on them, it would have the effect of directing attention away from the one wearing it, rendering them unnoticeable to those around them. They would not be necessarily _invisible_ as you put it, but rather blend into their surroundings as if they were, so long as those around them are not aware of it or their presence."

"That sounds like it would work perfectly," he nodded as he listened to her, his hopes being built up again.

"There are drawbacks, however," she warned.

"Such as?"

"The person would have to make sure they do not draw attention to themselves, as once someone _knows_ that they are there, they will no longer be affected by the filter. It is only a very minor form of mind control," she explained. "As well it cannot be used to fool radars, artificial intelligence and some animal species are immune to its influences."

Jeyice thought a moment, unsure if this would be helpful to her or not. She had mentioned that King Cold had wanted to make his own armies invisible, however if they could be spotted on a radar, didn't that defeat the purpose altogether? He couldn't remember, but he thought Bulma had mentioned that she had found a way around making things invisible on a radar scanner frequency, but could not remember now. As usual, he never paid much attention to the things she _said_ to him. "You have my interest, however I must consult with my… scientist. Do you have these filters on you?"

"I have a few, yes,"

"Can they be duplicated?" he asked, knowing that Bulma would need many for an army if this would be of any use to her.

"They can," she nodded.

"Right, and how expensive are they?" he asked finally.

She told him.

"Alright," he nodded after thinking about it a moment. "Is there a high demand for these filters or can I return in a few weeks' time and collect them _if_ my associate agrees that they will be useful?"

She shrugged and snorted. "That all depends. What is in high demand this week may not be next week and vice versa,"

"I see," he said. "May I place a deposit while I decide?"

"I will require the full amount and it is a non-refundable deposit," she nodded.

"Full amount, non-refundable?" he repeated in outrage. "This whole bloody planet is nothing more than a bunch of fucking pirates, waiting to rob you at any opportunity!"

"You work for PTO, how are you any different?" she shrugged in a bored tone, not put off by his rude accusation and foul language. "King Cold and his lot are the worst bunch of pirates out of us all,"

"Very well," he sighed, pulling out his cash. "I will place one deposit and buy one as well to take back with me."

"Very good," she nodded, taking his money and counting it a second time to make sure he had given her the correct amount before hopping off her beanbag chair and hobbling to the wall.

Jeyice frowned at her in curiosity, beginning to think that he had just been ripped off and the old amphibian was old and senile. There was nothing there! He was about to get angry and ask her what game she was playing on him before he noticed that the wall wasn't a wall at all. There was a cabinet hidden there, which he had not even seen until she opened it and began moving things around inside.

"Surprised?" she chuckled, turning to face him with something in a small box. He was standing there with his mouth slightly agape in shock.

"Just a little," he admitted.

"That is the power of a perception filter," she told him. "You see the cabinet now, right?"

"Yes," he nodded. It was there, clear as day and he wondered what else was hidden in the small tent.

"Now that you have seen it, you cannot go back to _un_ seeing it, even though it itself _is_ a perception filter," she said. "The effect on you is lost."

"Amazing. I understand," he nodded. This was possibly even better than he thought. "So you can make objects out of these filters?"

"You can, however it is more trouble than it is worth," she shrugged.

"I may need to find out how to do that when I come back," he said to her.

"I am afraid that is beyond my understanding, but I could forward you into the correct direction where it can be done,"

"I will take you up on that," he said. "Now where is the one I just bought and how does it work?"

"You simply wear it or have it on you," she said, opening the box, revealing a thin cut white stone, about the size and length of a pen cap.

"That's it?"

"You may have it made into a piece of jewelry like a pendent or earrings or bracelet," she rattled off. "It is fairly easy to have cut. It is not physically hard like most stones."

"Right," he nodded, wondering if he should do that and have it made into something for her but decided against it. It was for a project for Cold, not a fashion accessory for Bulma. "Okay, well I will take this back to my associate and will be in touch in a few weeks or a month or two, I am not sure when I will be able to return."

She nodded and went back to spot. "If you wear it out of that box, like in your pocket, no one on the street will notice you, unless you make a fuss, well then you won't be concealed. If you put it back in that _specific_ box, the effects will be cancelled."

"I will try it," he said, placing it in his breast plate and the box in his pants pocket before exiting the small tent and began making his way down the street back to the restaurant area where he had left the boys. He wasn't sure if he was blended in and invisible to the crowd or not. He didn't _feel_ any different and when he looked down he could still see himself but then remembered that he _knew_ about the filter, so it probably would not work on himself. He decided he would test it out once he ran into the boys and see if they noticed him.

He spotted them sitting at a table, still eating more food than what most boys their age could consume. He sat in the empty seat beside Trunks and was astonished that they did not even flinch or take notice of him. _So it does work,"_ he mused to himself as he listened to them bicker over who had shared more of their meal with the other, completely oblivious to his presence.

Satisfied, he took his leave. He needed to send the other jewelry he had gotten Bulma to her. It would be a surprise, he thought with a smile. He would save the perception filter for later on when he was back. He wanted to see her reaction to them himself.

-0-0-0-

Bulma was finishing up cleaning her side of the lab. It had taken her two weeks, but she had managed to finish painting all of King Cold's androids in her stealth paint. It had been an exhausting, tedious job, but she had been thorough and careful so as to make sure they were perfect. Each had needed two coats of paint to be sufficiently covered.

She had been so busy and tired with that, she hadn't even had the energy to put into her time machine and so that had been left alone for the last month. It had been 11 weeks that Jeyice and the boys had been gone and still she had received no word as to if they were alright or when they would return. Her pleas to Gero to find out from King Cold were ignored and as the days went, she began to worry that something had gone terribly wrong on the mission they had been sent on and naturally began to assume the worst as of late.

As she finished up with everything, a lower ranking soldier came into the lab. "I am looking for Bulma," he said, reading off a piece of paper on a package in his hands.

"I am Bulma," she replied, walking over to him, wondering who on earth would be sending her a parcel? No one knew she was here and immediately, dread crept up inside her that it was remains of the boys; that maybe they had been killed on the mission and that was all that was left of them.

"This is for you," he said curtly, holding the rectangular box out to her for her to take, giving her a strange look as she stood there, nearly petrified, not wanting to know what it was or who it was from. "Aren't you going to take it?" he asked impatiently as she stood there.

"Yes, of course," she replied, shaking her head and took the box from him. It wasn't too heavy.

He left and she stood there a moment, looking at it, unsure as to if she wanted to open it. Her name was on it and she did not recognize the handwriting on it. A small part of her was wishing the package was one of her parent's, but whoever had written the address on the box, their handwriting didn't match either of her parent's writing.

"What is it?" Dende asked, coming out of his room.

"I got a package from someone," she said quietly, still looking at the box all over, examining it carefully. She shook it once, no sound came from it and her stomach dropped. What if it was ashes?

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned by her disposition.

"I don't want to open it," she confessed. "What if it's…?"

"Do you want me to open it?" he offered, understanding what she meant and why she was hesitant to open it.

"I'm sorry, I'm not meaning to be so morbid, it's just… I can't help but think anything else," she said, handing him the box, her stomach turning unpleasantly. "I haven't heard anything about how they are. What else am I to assume?"

"I understand," he said, taking the box from her. "Want me to open it?"

She stared at the box in his hands a moment, debating on whether or not she even wanted to know what its contents were. "Yea, let's open it," she sighed finally. If she didn't open it, she'd be up all night wondering what was in there anyway so what was the point in not opening it?

Dende nodded and headed back into the lab, placing the box carefully on one of the tables there and went to grab a knife to open it.

Bulma could not help but glance at Vegeta in the regeneration tank. Somehow it gave her some comfort to open it up in front of him, just in case it was as bad as she feared. Even if he could not react to it or give her any form of comfort or support, just having him there while she did this made her feel better.

"Alright," Dende said, coming back to the box. "I'm sure it's not what you think," he said comfortingly. "If something bad had happened, they'd have told you already."

"Let's hope," she whispered, holding her breath, appreciating his efforts to be sensitive towards her about this. They had become very close friends in the recent months.

He sliced the box open and removed a long, sleek black box.

"Oh god," she cried, "It is a box of remains!"

"You don't know that," he replied, trying to sound cheerful. "Want me to open it?"

She stalled for a moment. It was a smooth, expensive looking black, rectangular box that almost reminded her of one of the boxes containing expensive jewelry her father always bought for her mother on special occasions. Except no one would be buying her any jewelry. "Yea, let's open it up," she nodded finally, scrunching her face up as he opened it.

A folded piece of paper was sitting on top of a gorgeous necklace with a blush pink stone, set in a silver setting and matching earrings. Dumbfounded, she yanked the box across the table, away from Dende and looked at the jewelry. It was exquisite, but not at all what she was expecting. She reached or the paper, unfolded it and the note read:

_I saw this and thought of you. I miss you and am looking forward to hopefully seeing you soon. Warmest regards, Jeyice._

"Oh god," she groaned, shutting the box and sliding it across the table in disgust.

"Who is it from?" Dende asked with interest, reaching for the box and opening it to look at the contents again.

"Jeyice," she snorted, tossing the paper on the table next to the box so he could see the note for himself. "Like are you freaking _kidding_ me?!"

Dende hid a smile and shook his head at her reaction. He wasn't entirely sure what the deal was with Bulma and Jeyice, but he knew that she hated him with a passion and that he was black mailing her so that she could see her boys. What exactly the arrangement was, he had no idea because she refused to tell him any of the specifics except that he was an extremely unwelcome person in her life. "Well, I think it's safe to say that Trunks and Tarble are alright then,"

"Are they?" she spat. "He didn't mention them! What if this is a condolence gift?"

"I don't think it is," he said, looking from the note and back at the necklace and earrings again, examining them closely. "These are very expensive stones and he didn't say anything about anything bad happening. He said _hopefully seeing you soon,_ which probably means that he and the boys will be back soon."

"You're probably right," she sighed, feeling somewhat relieved that the boys were more than likely just fine, but more than a little unnerved that he had upped the ante and was now sending her jewelry. "Great, now I'll be expected to wear this for him,"

"It _is_ beautiful," he shrugged.

"You don't get it," she shook her head, closing the box and taking it. "It's not that it isn't beautiful, it's the _meaning_ behind it. Where I come from, sending jewelry to someone- expensive jewelry _especially_ , means you're serious about someone."

" _Ohh_ ," he replied, his eyes widening in understanding.

"Yea," she sighed. "I've been putting him off for a while now, so now he's sending this. He doesn't get it that Vegeta is my mate, even if he stays in there forever, I'm not ever going to be interested in anyone else. If I accept this, then that means I'm accepting him."

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked, looking at the senders address on the original box. "This came from a pleasure planet. If you send it back, he won't get it because he's probably not there anymore."

"No, I won't send it back," she sighed. "The boys are with him, I don't want to anger him and then have him take it out on them and leave them stranded somewhere or worse. I'll just give them back to him when he returns."

"He's still going to be upset,"

"Too bad," she shrugged. "At least the boys will be here and he can't really do anything to them here because Cold won't allow it. I'll worry about it then, I'm going to bed."

"Good night," Dende nodded, looking around the lab after she had left. There was nothing left to be done, as she had done it all so he decided to turn in for the evening as well.

"Fucking bastard," Bulma muttered under her breath as she tossed the box carelessly on the couch and began taking her clothes off to change into her pajamas. As annoyed as she was over this newest development, she couldn't help but think of the positive implications this may have on her. If Jeyice was truly infatuated with her, then that meant that she could manipulate him. As it was, she had noticed that if she was insistent, he would cave sometimes on their _agreement_. It wasn't a common occurrence that he did, but maybe she could use her sway to further get ahead of him.

From what she had gleaned off her last work on the time machine, she needed some srot of galactic GPS system in order to be able to travel anywhere. It needed a fixed spot to work as sort of an anchor so that she would not only end up where she intended, but also make her way back here. Dende had suggested she get her hands on a scouter, but that was looking like an impossible feat. The scouters seemed to be a very valued commodity.

Perhaps if she played nice with Jeyice, she could convince him to give her one. Not only would it be one of the finishing touches to her time machine, but it would be a way for her to keep in touch with Trunks and Tarble on a regular basis and she would know that they were alright.

With those satisfying thoughts in mind, she turned in for the evening and went to sleep.

-0-0-0-

"Now do you boys understand what you need to do?" Jeyice asked them impatiently as they finished capsulizing everything they would need and were preparing the escape pod for them. They were just on the outskirts of the planet Eris where they could not be detected by their security systems.

"Yes," they both replied, anxious to get going. This would be their first time away from Jeyice and they were actually looking forward to it. He had been rather miserable and his mood had not improved any since they had destroyed that planet.

"Very well then," he nodded. "Get in there and I will talk to you when you have made contact."

"Yes, sir," Trunks said, getting inside the small escape pod and a moment later Tarble followed. It was cramped, and not very comfortable, but doable. The point was for it to look like they had escaped quickly and as inconspicuously from King Cold as possible.

"Now you will breach the atmosphere and I will be turning off the controls shortly after so the pod actually crashes," Jeyice reminded them. "Make sure you are ready and seated and properly strapped in so you will not be injured,"

"Got it," they nodded.

"Do _not_ fuck this up," he warned them before closing the door on the pod.

"You ready?" Tarble asked, locking the door from the inside.

"Yup!"

"Let's go,"

Within a few minutes, the pod was launched into the atmosphere and the boys strained to look out of the small window as they flew at break neck speed towards a pink planet.

Within just a few minutes, the warning came on that the pod had lost all mechanical control, as Jeyice had warned them it would.

"Oh shit!" Trunks exclaimed as they both scrambled to the seat, trying to make sure they were equally on the seat and strapped in.

"You're taking up too much space!" Tarble objected.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! There's no room for my butt, look, you're whole ass is on the seat!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Shit!" Tarble cried as they both were thrown upside down as the pod began to turn circularly, now that the power and controls had been cut. Now they knew why Jeyice had warned them to be strapped in.

"You idiot!" Trunks said.

"You were the one hogging all the space!" Tarble argued. "Ow!"

"What?"

"I hit my head," he said as they were thrown to the other side of the pod, both half on the seat by pure fluke. "Grab the belt!"

Trunks managed to grab the seatbelt and reach it across them, handing the end to Tarble who then buckled it up just in time before they were pitched upside-down again.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Trunks moaned, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Don't!" Tarble cried. "Or wait until we land!"

"I don't think that's going to happen," he said, taking deep breaths and closing his eyes to try and get rid of the nauseous feeling.

A moment later they were jarred as the pod came to an abrupt halt. They both felt like their teeth were going to be thrown out of their mouths and their brains scrambling out of their nose at the sheer heavy impact of the crash. Their ears rung and they felt the whole inside of the pod spinning even though the pod was sitting stock still into the ground.

"Are you alright?" Trunks asked Tarble as they stumbled out of the escape pod after taking a moment to regain their equilibrium. That had been more traumatic than they'd thought it would be.

"I think so," he winced, grabbing his forehead even though his whole neck and jaw ached as well. "I bumped my head really hard."

"You're bleeding," Trunks pointed to him before he bent over and began retching into the trees. He still felt as though he was spinning and his jaw and head ached in a throbbing rage as he dry heaved almost violently. Why was his stomach always affected by these things?

"Ya," Tarble sighed, touching his head and seeing blood on his fingers. "What do we do now?" The crash site was in the middle of what looked to be a wild jungle. There were trees and tall grass everywhere so thick that they couldn't see anything. It was quiet too, they didn't hear anyone coming.

"I don't know," Trunks shrugged, once he felt he was fine again. "That sucked."

"You're okay?"

"Yea," he nodded, picking up his scouter. "Hey, Jeyice? We made it okay, but there's no one here. Just trees. It looks like a jungle."

"Put your fucking scouter away!" Jeyice snarled back. "If someone sees you talking to someone through it and they take your scouter from you, this entire operation is fucked!"

"That's just it, there is no one around," Trunks said.

"So walk around and _look_ for someone!" Jeyice said irritably. "Do _not_ contact me again until you are settled."

" _Fine_ ," Trunks huffed as Jeyice hung up on him. "I guess we'd better put our scouters in a capsule where no one will find them."

Tarble took Trunks scouters and capsulized them both. "Which way should we go?"

"I don't know," Trunks shrugged. Suddenly this situation of them being stranded randomly didn't seem like so much fun anymore. "Let's go that way," he said, pointing forward.

"Should we leave the ship or take it?" Tarble asked.

"Leave it," Trunks said after thinking a moment. "Just in case they don't believe we crashed."

"Good idea," Tarble agreed as he followed Trunks through the trees and brush.

They walked in silence for a while before they began to get tired. It was very hot and humid on this planet and they weren't used to it, nor were they dressed for it. They were in their battle suits and armour.

"Should we take a break?" Tarble asked, bending over to breathe better.

"No, we need to keep going and find someone, _anyone_ to talk to," Trunks replied after pausing for a moment. A break did sound good right about now.

"What if there isn't anyone on this planet though?"

"Do you really think Jeyice would ditch us somewhere with no inhabitants?" Trunks snorted.

"I don't know," Tarble shrugged. "Do you believe him that he wants to help us get mom and dad away from King Cold?"

Trunks stopped walking. "I don't know," he sighed. "He's been strange since we left."

"I know!"

"Let's take our armour off at least," Trunks suggested, pulling his over his head.

Tarble followed suit. They both capsulized their armour before continuing on, agreeing that it made them look more like they had actually crashed. Their flight suits were torn a bit at the knees and elbows at this point from the crash and from trudging their way through the thick, bounteous jungle.

Just as they were both sorely considering possibly taking a break and setting their tent up for the night, they noticed that the trees were beginning to thin out and a little further on, they came to a clearing and noticed a small village in the distance.

"Whoa, finally," Tarble huffed. He was exhausted. They could both barely breathe from the high level of humidity and both were absolutely drenched in sweat.

"Ya, let's go," Trunks said, not stopping and picking up the pace to get to the village, anxious to talk to someone and maybe get some water. Sure, they had their own, but they knew it needed to appear like they had little to no provisions for themselves.

Once they made it to the village, they began walking along the outside property lines, in hopes of finding someone that they could talk to.

They stopped for a moment before proceeding.

"Who are you?" an older man asked them from a distance away. He appeared to be doing yard work in his backyard two homes over from where they were.

The boys froze, unsure of what to say now that they had actually found someone to talk to. Sure Jeyice said that it was alright for them to tell them who they were, but what if it wasn't? What if they weren't friends of their father?

"Sorry sir, uhmm.. My brother and I just crash landed back there in the jungle and we were looking for help." Tarble said quickly.

"So that was you guys a few hours ago," he said. "I thought I saw something land in there. You boys alright?"

"I think so," they both replied, coming closer.

"Well come on in," he called to them, waving in invitation. "You boys alone or is there anyone else with you?"

They looked at each other. Here was their chance. "We are alone," Trunks answered. "Is there someone we could talk to, like a guy in charge or a leader or something?"

"A leader?" he repeated, his eyebrows shooting up. "Of course, but why would you have need to speak with any of them?"

"Because we need your help," Trunks said, lowering his voice. "We escaped from someplace and we were told that our father had an alliance with the people here so maybe they can help us."

The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them now. "Who is your father?"

"Prince Vegeta of Vegeta-sei." Tarble replied.

The man laughed hysterically at them a moment but then stopped as he composed himself. "Boy, I otta laugh you off of this entire planet an' back to wherever it was that you came from. There are no Saiyans left an' even if there were, you two are too old to be who you claim to be,"

"It's true," Trunks confirmed. "We are brothers and the last two remaining Saiyans. We have been held captive on King Cold's base since we were babies. We were made to train in a chamber that ages us so that we could be trained as soldiers for King Cold."

The man looked closer at them, not convinced, but not entirely uncertain that they weren't telling the truth either. "You both have tails," he commented as he looked them over and noticed the appendages wrapped firmly around their waists.

Both boys nodded, unfurling them so he could see that they were indeed tails.

"Come in," he said again. "There are a few people that will want to talk to you if you truly are who you claim to be,"

The boys followed him into his home where his wife was in the kitchen making a meal. "Darby, please set a place at the table for these two boys," he said to her. "They crashed in the brush and are requiring our assistance. I need to find Geralt, Keenan and Tobias at once,"

"Alright, dear," she nodded. "You poor boys alright? It looks like you bumped your head quite badly," she said, looking at Tarble in concern. "Are you alright or are you hurt elsewhere?"

"No, I'm fine," Trunks shook his head. "I'm just a bit dirty,"

"Well you both can use our bathroom and shower up while I finish making lunch," she said, pointing down the hall. "There's towels in the cupboard in there. Toss them into the hamper when you are done. I don't have any clean clothes however."

"That's ok," Trunks said. "We have some sored with us, actually."

"You go shower first and I'll look at your brother's head."

"I'm okay, ma'am, really," Tarble insisted. "It's just a bump."

"It's far more than a bump, young man, it's more like a gash that needs to be stitched up." she insisted, inspecting it in a motherly fashion.

"Thank you," Tarble said.

"It's not a problem," she brushed off, opening up a first aid kit. "You're much too young and handsome to have such an unsightly scar on your head."

Tarble felt himself blush slightly at her comment.

Satisfied that Tarble would be alright to be left with this woman, Trunks made his way to the bathroom to shower. He stripped off his dirty and torn flight suit and turned the water to as cool as it would go. Hopefully these people would be able to help them and Jeyice would make good on his promise to help them all get away from King Cold.

Even if Jeyice didn't come through for them, at least they would be telling _someone_ outside King Cold's planet about them and what had happened and that their parents were being held. With or without Jeyice, Trunks was determined that this mission would be their saving grace.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! First off, THANK YOU! To whoever nominated Endlessly and Butterflies & Hurricanes in the Annual Awards for The Prince and the Heiress Google community! No idea who it was, but honestly, it really made my week! I was soo not expecting to be nominated at all! Endlessly is a few years old and my updates for this story have been sporadic as of late so I was truly tickled pink and honored! Thank you! If you haven't, go check it out! Please vote! Polls are open until November 12! There are tons of amazing nominations to choose from and links are provided so you can read them all before casting a vote!
> 
> Here's a link with all the nominees:  
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jZ-XMUOpJAlP2KVB5DweIhwoJ7Y3uai69oULJ91Wc6k/edit
> 
> Here’s a link for the voting polls:  
> http://theprinceandtheheiress.tumblr.com/post/152474833411/the-2016-annual-awards-poll-vote-open
> 
> ALSO…. The reason I’m so late this time with an update was I entered a writing challenge for the Prince and the Heiress Community. It was to be based on a classic literature novel. I chose Wuthering Heights. It’s posted now on my profile for everyone’s reading pleasure… It’s called Even Though Our Love is Doomed. So check it out! I had a lot of fun with it and am very proud of it. It was a nice break from this story and honestly gave me some of my inspiration back!   
> That’s it enjoy the new chapter!!

**_D_** _ **isclaimer:**_ I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

 

**_Butterflies & Hurricanes_ **

**_Chapter 34_ **

The boys were both showered, changed into clean clothes and were in the middle of their meal, when the man who had helped them returned with another man the boys vaguely recognized as the king of the planet Jeyice had destroyed; they had seen his picture in a family portrait and immediately, they felt uneasy. What if he knew that they had been a part of that mission?

“This is Geralt, one of our leaders,” he introduced them.

“Fenton tells me that you both claim to be the son of Prince Vegeta, is this so?” Geralt asked without further greeting. He was a tall, thin, blue-skinned man and looked exactly the same on that portrait as he did in person.

Both boys nodded.

“I believe _you_ ,” he said, pointing to Tarble. “You are the spitting image of anyone from the he house of Vegeta I have ever met. _You_ , on the other hand,” he continued, pointing at Trunks, “only have a very vague resemblance.”

 “We are twins,” Tarble insisted, finally deciding to speak up. “Our mother isn’t Saiyan. I took most of my father’s physical traits and Trunks has our mother's, but Trunks is strong like our father and I am not,”

 “I see,” he said, narrowing his eyes at them, not entirely convinced. “You say your father still lives under capture at King Cold’s base and the two of you merely escaped on your own?”

“That’s right,” they nodded and proceeded to tell them the situation regarding both their parents and their capture on King Cold’s base all this time tell telling them everything they knew from both what they had heard from Jeyice, other soldiers and their mother, convinced that if they could win these people over, maybe they would help them.

“I see… However, Vegeta-sei was destroyed two years ago, give or take,” he said. “If the two of you _were_ infants, say even a year old at the time of its destruction, you are still far too old to be who you claim to be. How old _are_ you both, if I may ask? Eight? Nine?”

“We’re ten, sir,” Trunks answered and then told him about their training in the hyperbolic time chamber.

“Yes, I have heard of it,” he nodded, seeming to accept the explanation. “Alright. I believe you, _both_ of you.”

“Thank you sir,” Tarble said with a smile, relieved. It had seemed that he was not going to believe them at all and he had been beginning to worry somewhat.

“Well do not thank me as of yet,” he said with a frown and getting up to pace the room. “I am afraid I cannot be of much help to you. My own planet was recently destroyed by King Cold so I have nothing to offer either of you in terms of resources or soldiers to come back with you. The majority of our forces resided on my planet and so now we are left with next to nothing.”

They both looked at each other solemnly, unsure if they should be completely honest and tell him that they knew.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Trunks said before Tarble decided to mention it. There was no point in telling him. What good would it do except to upset him? It wasn’t like they could get caught about hiding the information from him. “It sucks losing your home and your family.”

“Yes,” he nodded sadly, trying to keep from becoming overly emotional. “I lost my wife and my daughters along with everything else that mattered to me. While it has been a devastating loss, I am thankful to be alive and will do anything I can to destroy King Cold. I know it was him that did this, or sent some of his men to do it for him. I just hope my dear wife and girls did not suffer before they perished. I cannot bare to think of it.”

The boys didn’t know what to say. They remembered exactly what they had seen and it had both disturbed and disgusted them. Since then, their trust in Jeyice had been shaken and they feared very much for their own mother and what was possibly happening with her.

“Hopefully they were left alone,” Tarble said, trying to sound reassuring. “How come you happened to not be there?”

Geralt was quiet a moment before answering. “We were trying to get together a group to act as a resistance against King Cold. It has been in the works for many years but since your father’s home was destroyed, we have been doubling our efforts to over throw him for good.

“I met with your father, Prince Vegeta, many years ago in secret with the rest of the existing resistance members. Back then, everything was ruled by King Cold’s son, Lord Frieza,” he explained to them. “Your father was very young, not much older than seventeen or eighteen at the time, but he had a deep seated hatred for Frieza and anything related to him. His father was deeply aligned with the Frieza and King Cold, so the idea was to hang tight until the time when Prince Vegeta took his father’s throne and then act.

“Everyone rejoiced when we learned that he had destroyed Lord Frieza, except soon after that he was taken captive and Vegeta-sei was destroyed. We have not the means to pull off a full scare rebellion without the Saiyan army we had been counting on, but it is our firm resolve to continue on and pick up where Prince Vegeta left off. If there is the remotest possibility that he is alive, we will help you in any way that we can.”

“Wow,” Tarble commented.

“So you knew our father fairly well,” Trunks said.

“At one time, yes.” He nodded. “He was an honourable man both on and off the battlefield and it was considered a huge loss when we were told of his death. He had a lot of potential to be an exceptional ruler, unlike his father and the Cold’s.”

“I, or _we_ don’t remember him,” Tarble said. “Everyone on Cold’s base tells us he was a gifted warrior but he was a traitor. Our mother says he’s a good man. Did you know her?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I never met her, only heard stories and unfortunately most of them were less than positive being that it was widely known that your grandfather did not approve of his choice of wife. Therefore, I cannot say, however knowing your father, I have no doubts that he would have chosen someone exemplary for himself.”

“She’s a scientist,” Trunks said.

“I have heard that,” he conformed. “However I have heard everything from her being a scientist to a sorceress to being a high paid courtesan who stole his heart and many even worse rumours.”

“Mom’s nice,” Tarble said. “You’d like her.”

“I am sure I would and hopefully I will be able to meet her in time.”

“Great!” Trunks nodded.

“Well settle yourselves in, Fenton has offered to let you boys stay with him until we figure something out,” Geralt said, gesturing to Fenton and his wife, Darby.

“Thank you,” the boys said, feeling relieved that they had someplace to stay instead of having to set up a camp somewhere, even though they had prepared for that.

They spent the rest of the day being shown around the planet. It was very lax; no curfews or boundaries. Everything was fresh and open and the boys were surprised that it seemed like they could come and go as they pleased, so long as they weren’t disruptive in returning at night.

The following afternoon, they went back into the jungle to contact Jeyice, like they were supposed to, but all they got was a drunken Burter who told them that Jeyice was not there and he would let him know when they heard from him but in the meantime to hang tight because they were “having a good time” and suggested they do the same.

Within a week, they had still not heard from Jeyice and had pretty much integrated themselves into life on the planet Eris. They loved it, they loved the people and they were certain their mother would love it as well.

“Do you think we should contact Jeyice again?” Tarble asked Trunks as they sat by a pond in the deep jungle after trying to catch giant frogs for an afternoon snack.

“Probably, yea,” he shrugged. “Just in case Burter never told him we tried so he doesn’t get mad and think we didn’t try to get in touch with him at all.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he sighed, though he had a troubled look on his face.

“No, what?” Tarble pressed.

“What if Jeyice comes here and he tells Geralt about what he did to his planet and then tells him we were there?”

Tarble shrugged. “Why would he tell him that?”

“I don’t know, you know how he is sometimes,” Trunks said. “He can be pretty mean when things don’t go his way. Geralt wants to be in charge of helping to get dad out, right? Jeyice _always_ has to be in charge of everything. What if he ruins this and then they won’t help?”

“I don’t know,” Tarble replied, his own features looking crestfallen now. “We have to get a hold of him some time though,”

“Yea, I know,” Trunks sighed. “I wish there was a way to contact mom and let her know so she can just come here and then we can all go get dad after.”

“That would make more sense,” Tarble agreed.

“Let’s hang back and wait a little while before calling him,” Trunks suggested. “I feel like we are on a holiday and if he gets mad, we’ll just blame Burter.”

“Ya!” Tarble laughed. “It’s way too much fun here!”

-0-0-0-

Jeyice landed on King Cold’s base after a two week journey back. He had not heard from the boys yet, which he assumed was good news. Unsure of how much longer they would be, he decided to take a single space pod back to see Bulma and give her the perception filter stones as a gift to add to the jewellery he had sent her; that was why he had been able to make it back in only two weeks. He’d left the main ship in Burter’s capable hands while they gallivanted about and he would return hopefully before the boys called.

He stretched as he got out, trying to work out a cramp in his neck.

Stretched and ready, he went to grab the filter stones but they were not there. He began to rifle in between the seat and the walls, panicking that he had lost them somehow. He finally called Burter on his scouter to take a look around the ship and sure enough, he’d left the wrapped box behind.

“Awe, did you go all that way empty handed?” Burter laughed at him as though it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

Angry at being ridiculed, he hung up on him without even asking if the boys had made contact and headed to his own living quarters to freshen up a bit before filling King Cold in on his progress and visiting Bulma.

After he showered, he decided to go see Bulma first before Cold. He was anxious to see if she’d gotten his gifts and if she’d liked them.

“Hello, kitten,” he said, walking into her bedroom unannounced. It looked like she was trying to fix herself a meal.

Bulma dropped her plate on the floor at the sound of his voice, she’d had no idea he was returning and was completely unprepared. Her stomach made an unpleasant dip at the thought of having to entertain him.

“You’re back,” she managed to say, trying to sound happily surprised rather than disappointed.

“I am,” he nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,”

“It’s alright,” she said. “So where are the boys? Are they alright?”

“They’re fine, love, they aren’t here, they’re still on mission, but they are fine, I promise. I just thought I would take some downtime for myself and come see you.” he replied casually, reaching for her but she skirted away from him.

“You could have sent me an update,” she said coolly, feeling an unpleasant lump in her throat beginning to build.

“Did you get the gifts I sent you?” he asked, oblivious to her upset.

“I did, but I would have rather you sent me news on how Trunks and Tarble are doing than you wasting your money on stuff like that,” she replied, not caring to thank him or fawn over his gift. “Besides, where am I going to wear something like that? I can’t wear that here. If you’re going to spend the money or try to make a grand gesture, get me something _useful!_ ”

“Well, I have something useful that I was going to bring you, but I forgot it,” he said dumbly, thrown by her attitude. That was _not_ the reaction he had been expecting.

“Well, that’s a lot of help,”

“What’s up your ass?” he asked, beginning to get annoyed by her cold reception. “I haven’t seen you in a few months and this is how you greet me? Alright, I am sorry I did not keep you informed over the boys, but they are fine. If they weren’t, I’d have let you know. What is it you want?”

“I want a scouter,” she said bluntly, crossing her arms.

“And what in god’s name do you need a scouter for, love?” he asked in amusement, walking up to her and trapping her between the couch and himself.

“I was really worried when you guys were gone longer than you said you would be,” she replied, trying to soften her tone. “No one would tell me anything. This way you could let me know that they are alright or that you decided to go on an extra mission. Maybe I could even talk to them for a few minutes if you would allow it?”

“Hmmm,” he hummed, considering it. “I still don’t see why you need a scouter. If anything were to happen, you would be notified. No news is good news. Besides, Cold wouldn’t like it.”

Bulma’s mind raced for any reason to make him agree. She _needed_ that scouter for so many reasons, not just to ease her peace of mind about the boy’s safety.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said, reaching for her and pulling her close to him. “I _did_ miss you though,” he said as he pawed her ass possessively.

Bulma flinched as he squeezed her ass. She sure hadn’t missed him; but she couldn’t tell him that.

“Did you give any thought to my proposal a while back?” he asked, sliding his hand down her pants to grope at the bare flesh of her back side. “The offer still stands.”

“Hmm, no, I haven’t, I’ve just been so worried about the boys and busy with my work in the lab that I haven’t given much of anything else even a moment’s thought,” she sighed, pretending to be into his fondling. “If you get me a scouter, I _may_ consider it though.”

“You, you crafty little bitch,” he chuckled in amusement, turning her around so she was facing away from him now. “I keep forgetting to watch myself with you,”

She snorted at him. “You know, if you got me a scouter, it would make our separation that much easier to bear.”

“How so?” he asked. By this point he was kissing her neck and was working her pants off.

“Well, we could talk,” she suggested.

“Who says I want to _talk_ to you, love?” he breathed huskily against the back of her neck. “I appreciate your intellect by comparison to some of the boorish girls in the harems I have come across, but _talking_ with you is about the _last_ thing I want to do with you.”

“Hmmm,” what she really wanted was to remind him that it was a small wonder she could never bring herself to care for him. A relationship based on just sex alone, even if it was one hundred percent consensual sex, was doomed to fail if there wasn’t anything more for foundation, but she didn’t care enough to mention it. It wasn’t like she would ever be interested or even capable of cultivating anything meaningful with him on her end anyway. She was just using him in very much the same way he was using her, only he didn’t know it. He was going to help her escape this place, _if_ she played her cards right. “I could talk dirty to you,” she suggested suddenly. Another argument in her favour popping into her mind in that moment, seeing as that was the only thing on his mind.

“How you mean?” he asked, quitting his ministrations a moment.

“I could tell you a sexy story every night about all the things I’d like you to do to me when you come back to me,” she said suggestively, turning her head to look at him. “Vegeta used to _love_ that.”

“Well wasn’t he a lucky bastard,” he commented, considering it a moment with a smirk and she knew then that she’d won. “Alright, I’ll get you a scouter.”

Bulma smiled brightly at him. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

“And in return you will actually think about moving in with me?” he asked hopefully.

“I will,” she replied without hesitation. She would find a way to keep skirting around the subject and avoid it for as long as possible. She knew that he would be leaving soon either to go get the boys or on another mission and would more than likely be gone a while again so she would worry about that later on.

“Yes, you will,” he said as he loosened his pants and let them fall to the floor to his ankles before bending her over the arm of her couch, yanked her pants down and entered her from behind. He reached for both of her hands, placing them both behind her back, pinning them there before beginning to move in and out of her.

She would have objected, insisting on making him arouse her a little bit and take things to her bed where it was more comfortable, but this way she knew that he would be done quickly. He always was when he took her carelessly like this and that was always preferable than having him linger and play with her body. This way he would be done and gone within a few short minutes and...

Speak of the devil, he was done! She thought triumphantly as she felt him go rigid and heard him grunt his release as he spent himself inside of her.

“Fuck,” he cursed, not pleased that it had happened that quickly. He smacked her bare ass hard after letting her hands go before pulling out of her and shrugging his pants back on. “Sorry, love. It kind of got away from me there that time.”

“That’s fine,” she replied, pulling up her own pants and quickly darting to the bathroom so she wouldn’t make a mess.

“Do you want me to make it up to you?” he asked, following her into the bathroom. “I could relieve you in the shower.”

“No,” she replied curtly. “I’m fine.” he never offered or cared if she didn’t finish. Truth be told she never had with him; she normally faked it but sometimes she didn’t even care enough to make him think that she had. Like today. She just wanted him to leave. “I’m really tired today, Jeyice. Maybe some other time?”

“Alright,” he nodded in understanding though he had been hoping if she had accepted his invitation it would have led to a second round for himself. However he still hadn’t forgotten her rant months ago about how to make her want him. He apparently needed to be considerate. So that’s what he was going to do today. “If that’s what _you_ want, love.”

Bulma rolled her eyes inwardly at him and stifled a groan of annoyance. There were moments, like this, when she truly believed she could not do this anymore and the thought of hanging herself or splitting her wrists open felt like a reasonable course of action. Except then she would think of Trunks and Tarble and decided she couldn’t do that to them.  However then Vegeta would finally be put out of his misery for good and follow her to whatever after life existed and it could be the two of them again. How glorious would that be!

“See? I’m being _considerate_ of _your_ needs,” he announced proudly when she didn’t respond. “You will have your scouter before I leave again, I promise.”

“Thank you,” she said as he left. “I appreciate it.”

As soon as she heard her door close she stood up off the toilet and started her shower up. _He thought he was being considerate to my needs? Ha!_ She crowed inwardly as she waited for the water to warm up a bit. That was beyond laughable.

“He was _so_ considerate and thought _only_ of _my_ needs as he bent me over the side of my couch and fucked me for a minute and a half!” she ranted out loud as she stepped into her shower before she began to laugh maniacally almost. “Oh, thank you, Jeyice! I’m _so_ appreciative of your kindness and consideration!”

She laughed until she began to cry and slid to the tile floor of her shower. When would this get easier? This had been going on for nearly two years now. She would have thought that by now she could do this and it wouldn’t affect her anymore. It was just sex.

But it wasn’t. The more she did this the more she hated herself and the more she was convinced that if she got Vegeta and the boys out of here that this would destroy whatever was left of hers and Vegeta’s relationship. How ironic would that be if they made it out of this cluster fuck only to have their marriage implode over the one thing that made it possible for her to escape?

How could she tell him? More than that, would she even _want_ Vegeta to touch her again ever after this? _That may not be an issue,_ she told herself dejectedly. _He probably will never want to touch me again once he finds out I let Jeyice use me as a fuck and chuck to bargain my way through this._ The thought sickened her. This wasn’t who she was.

Her own parents would even be disgusted with her if they knew.

She was a good girl. Alright, she could be a tad bit flirty once in a while, but she never meant anything by it. Though she had _never_ flirted with Jeyice. _Ugh,_ she shuddered to herself. Even his name made her skin crawl. She had a backup plan now with her edible body cream heavily laced with sedatives, but she hadn’t been prepared for him. If she had known he had been returning, she would have incorporated it. She just could not keep letting this happen.

She thought again about Vegeta and how he would feel about all of this. He had been understanding about it the first time. One of the last things he had told her before they put him into deep sedation was for her to not lose herself. Here she was so lost, she almost didn’t know who she was anymore.

**_Vegeta, I’m so sorry!_** She cried out mentally to him as loud and projecting as much feeling as she could towards that small sliver of awareness that he was alive that still lived inside her. She didn’t know if he ever heard her, but it didn’t stop her from talking to him every day in hopes that maybe he could still hear her, even if he could not respond. It gave her some sense of comfort even if the conversation was only one sided; if there was even the smallest possibility he could hear her, it was worth a shot in her mind. **_Please forgive me when this is all over._**

**_I hope you can hear me. I wish there was some way I could know that you do, is there some way you can let me know? I need you, Vegeta! I don’t know what to do or how to get out of this._ **

0-0-0

He was floating still in the white void. It had been weeks or months. Maybe it was _years_ since he’d seen Lord Frieza? He didn’t know. It could have even been merely a few hours for all he knew.

He had given up a little while ago on finding a way out of this endless white void of hell. Again, he wasn’t sure how long ago he had decided to take a break and meditate. And so here he was.

Floating into the void of nothingness.

He was suddenly hit with something. He shot up from his reclined position, ready to take on whoever would dare disturb him.

There was no one.

Vegeta scowled suspiciously as he looked around and as always there was nothing there.

He _knew_ he had felt something. It was like a spark. He didn’t know what it was; if it was a ki blast or what, but he had definitely felt _something_.

Vegeta stood up cautiously, looking around and making sure that there was no one lurking around and trying to attack him. Was Frieza that stupid to come to him again?

He shrugged. If he did, it would keep him amused for a few minutes as he ripped him limb for limb again; he had nothing better to do and maybe this time he would prolong it just to keep himself busy.

He still didn’t see anything and he wasn’t sure which direction it was coming from either. Maybe he was hallucinating?

Vegeta continued to walk aimlessly. While nothing was shooting at him now there was a nagging feeling that was gnawing at him and he wasn’t sure where it was coming from.

He walked until he began to feel tired and heavy. _This is new,_ he thought to himself as he fought the overwhelming need to sit, close his eyes and rest. He never felt tired since he had arrived here. Sure he stopped for long periods of time to meditate in hopes of figuring a way out of there, but he was never... exhausted like he was feeling right now.

Vegeta caved in his resolve and sat down on the white void, not sure if he actually was sitting since there was nothing but white but he felt better and decided to begin meditating again.  Whatever it was that had hit him, either it had been in his head, or he had imagined it, or whoever it was had gotten smart and decided to leave him alone.

He still felt overwhelmingly exhausted however and this was troubling to him. _How can I be so tired,_ he asked himself as he lay down and immediately fell asleep.

It was a strange kind of sleep. The kind that he wasn’t sure if he was awake or still dreaming. As his mind seemed to settle he was able to make out the scenery before him. It was a lab of some sort. He didn’t quite remember it, but at the same time it seemed vaguely familiar to him for some reason. He looked around the room, investigating his surroundings and felt his stomach drop as he saw an occupied regeneration tank along the wall.

He approached it cautiously as he looked in horror at its occupant. It was _him._ He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing nothing but his blue flight suit. His limbs worked, he patted himself down and looked at his arms; his muscle mass was still the same as it always was, yet the occupant who looked like him looked to be about half his size maybe? He looked withered and weak. It disgusted him and he felt nothing but anger.

So was he dead, he thought to himself. _So what the fuck is this!_ He raged angrily to himself, punching his fist against the tank and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he made no physical contact with it. It was like he had punched clean air. _What the hell,_ he thought, scowling at his hands. None of this made any sense! He looked at the status screen on it to find out if he was being barely kept alive or if they were keeping his body for some inexplicable reason?

He couldn’t read any of it. It was written in a language he was not familiar with, nor had he ever seen. He glared at the dormant version of himself again, wondering what was going on.

Was he in purgatory?

Suddenly his attention was drawn towards the back of the lab. There was that feeling again only this time it was stronger and he wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he followed his gut instinct without hesitation and exited the lab into a hallway with a series of tree doors.

The closer he got, the stronger and more familiar the feeling became as he approached the last one.

He stopped at it and looked at it with uncertainty. Whatever was reaching out to him and drawing him back here, this was where it was. He was hit with an overwhelming sense of anxiety and despair once again and this confirmed that he was in the right direction.

_Bulma,_ he thought as he immediately recognized the energy signature. _What the hell is she doing here?_

Without taking more time deliberating, he realized again that he couldn’t open the door, but could walk _through_ the door so he simply walked in. It was a small living space with a small living area and kitchenette placed closely together. There was a wall behind the kitchen and he could see what looked to be the end of a bed, indicating that it must have been a very small bedroom. A few feet away from the bed was a closed door of what he assumed was a washroom.

He hesitated again, only now just noticing that there was water running in what was presumably a shower, he assumed and he wasn’t sure what to do. He was sure it was Bulma now that he was here. Her scent was everywhere mingled with another scent he vaguely recognized but couldn’t place, but it was hers that was dominant.

He wanted to go to her and find out if she was alright; he had been wondering for what felt like months and years trying to find a way back to her and here he may have found her! However he did not want to frighten her either if she wasn’t expecting him.

As he stood there trying to make up his mind, he heard her call his name softly. It wasn’t a sound of awareness that he was present nor was it in lust. It was sad; like she was crying.

Vegeta decided he needed to investigate and walked into the small bathroom where she was curled up in the shower sobbing. The sight of seeing her looking so distraught and broken tore him up inside. _What had happened,_ he wondered in deep concern. Never had he seen her cry like this.

“Bulma,” he said, taking another step towards her cautiously. He did not want to frighten her.

She didn’t respond, she just kept crying almost hysterically. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Vegeta.”

“Sorry for what?” he asked, reaching out to touch her and he clenched his jaw in rage as his hand, as with everything else, passed through her. _What kind of fucking joke is this?!_ He screamed mentally. What was he doing here if he couldn’t communicate with or comfort his mate?

Was this some other cruel joke or another level of hell he had somehow wondered into? He remembered a while back in the void desperately wandering around trying to find a way out and back to Bulma and Trunks. Here he had somewhat accomplished that but it was as though he were a ghost passing through. What good was that?

_I am dead,_ he thought to himself in despair. Was that why Bulma was so distraught? It made sense. Maybe she was apologizing because she had tried to save him and he had still died. He couldn’t even remember what had happened to him...

How had he gotten here and how had Bulma gotten here and where the hell was Trunks? He wracked his mind trying to remember but nothing came up. He thought he remembered leaving her on Vegeta-sei to fight a war with King Cold. He couldn’t remember the outcome but he had obviously lost, being that he was dead and in some sort of next dimension. Had Bulma talked him into bringing her with him? He remembered them fighting about it a lot so it wouldn’t surprise him all that much if she had.

As he tried to piece together the pieces of the puzzle, Bulma finally seemed to calm down somewhat, picking herself up off the tile floor and began washing herself.

He noticed that her hand was badly mangled and frowned as he observed her from where he was. From the look of it, it was an old injury; it did not seem to bother her, but it bothered him.

Vegeta walked out of the small washroom, feeling like he was doing something he shouldn’t by being there watching her without her knowledge. He walked around the small room, trying to look for clues that may give him any advantage or knowledge of what was going on here and maybe a way for him to communicate to her that he was here.

He walked into the kitchen and noticed a plate on the floor and a meal that was only half-prepared on the counter. Oddly, his stomach did not growl and he realized that he could not remember the last time he had consumed a meal. Another indication to him that he must be dead or in purgatory; but what was keeping him alive then? Was it Bulma? He knew the bond had many different layers and depths to it, but he didn’t exactly know how far it went or the depth. What he did know was that he and Bulma had a strong bond and what he had assumed was if one of them was killed, the other would more than likely follow. Was the bond the only reason why he was still somewhat _alive_ , he wondered for lack of a better word? This was not life. On the other hand was that what was wrong with her? She looked so mentally and emotionally weathered away. Was he actually dead and waiting to pass on into the other life but had to wait until she followed and he was doomed to watch her slowly succumb to it; was that what this was?

She emerged a few minutes later, wrapped in a towel. He watched her as she moved to where her bed was and opened a cabinet, taking out clothes to wear. As her back was turned to him, he frowned as he noticed deep scar lines in her shoulder and down her back. Disturbed at the sight of it, he strode across the room to her in an attempt to take a better look, but she pulled over her shirt before he could get a better look.

Instead of going back into the kitchen to eat her meal, as he assumed she would, she turned off the lights and went to bed, curling herself into a ball and began to shake.

He sat on the side of her bed and attempted to touch her, but again, he could not make any physical contact with her. It was as though he were in the same exact space and location at the same time as her, but in a different dimension that separated them by a thread. Was he a ghost, he wondered again.

Not knowing what else to do, he lay next to her and willed every ounce of feeling and comfort possible to her. He could feel her and their connection, it was strong. He could not, however, pick up on her specific thoughts and this troubled him. How could he comfort her if he could not speak to her?

He just continued to lay next to her, focusing on that beacon of awareness of her existence that had been a part of him since the night he’d claimed her and bound himself to her and he cleaved to it; he poured every bit of strength and courage and love and comfort into her that he could, hoping that even if she did not know it came from him that it would help her.

-0-0-0-

Bulma sighed in contentment as she began to feel warm and inexplicably better. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she could have sworn she could feel Vegeta. However it wasn’t uncommon for her to _think_ she felt him near. Especially when she was in deep despair. She decided it was her minds way of coping with all of this. It did feel different this time, like he was _actually there_.

She sighed again as she rolled over, wanting to cling on to the momentary feeling of comfort she was inexplicably feeling at the moment. _Maybe I am beginning to lose my mind,_ she thought as she fell asleep almost immediately, feeling safe and content.

-0-0-0-

As soon as she had fallen asleep, Vegeta found himself transported back into the white void of hell again.

“What the actual _fuck_ _?!”_ he cursed, throwing his fist into thin air as he looked around and realized he was alone again. He tried reaching out to Bulma again but there was nothing there.

“What are you throwing a fit over now?” he heard the familiar, mocking voice of Frieza from behind him.

Vegeta turned and glared at him a moment before walking away in an aimless direction. He had been _out_ of here! He had seen and _felt_ Bulma. He needed to get back to her! She needed him!

“Where are you going?” Frieza persisted, following him.

“Leave me alone, if you know what is good for you,” he growled, not turning back to even look at him.

“You cannot escape this place,” he said in a know-it-all tone.

“I _did_ ,” he replied sourly, only wishing he would leave.

“Why are trying so desperately to leave?” he asked him. “Why would you even _want_ to go back? It’s so peaceful here with no one to hurt you.”

“Because Bulma needs me,”

“Oh, _right,_ ” Frieza snorted, rolling his eyes. “It’s always about the bitch, isn’t it?”

Vegeta growled in response and kept going, looking around at everything and nothing for any clue. How had he found his way out last time? He remembered feeling like he had been hit with ki while he’d been meditating. _That’s right,_ he thought to himself. He had been in deep meditation, he remembered now. With that in mind, he stopped suddenly and sat down, crossing his legs and closing his eyes trying to see if he could replicate the same outcome.

“Well this is no fun,” Frieza whined. “You know she’s probably found someone else to fuck and keep her warm at night and forgotten all about you by now, you are only wasting your time and setting yourself up for disappointment,”

Vegeta heard him, but ignored him.

“Why are you wasting your time?”

“I have nothing better to do,” he grunted in reply. “Killing you is of no amusement to me.”

“It isn’t, now?” he said in a shocked tone. “I thought it was the only thing you ever wanted to accomplish?”

“And I did,” he replied. “I could disintegrate you again now if you’d like.”

“My, my,” Frieza scolded him. “Just as testy and ill-mannered as always, I see.”

Vegeta opened his eyes a few minutes later and noticed that Frieza was gone. _Good,_ he thought to himself as he resumed concentrating to find anything that would allow him to reconnect with Bulma again.

-0-0-0-

Bulma awoke the next morning to the sound of Jeyice calling her name.

“You’re still asleep?” he asked, leaning against the wall across from her bed.

Bulma didn’t reply, annoyance already buzzing through her at his mere presence. “Why are you here so early?”

“I need to head back,” he replied. “I had been hoping to stay a bit longer with you, but Cold wants me to be as close to where the boys are as possible so they are not left longer than need be. Less chance of a mistake happening.”

“Right,” she agreed.

“As promised, here is a scouter for you,” he said, handing her a small box. “It is not brand new, but one of the top of the line models from a few years back because Cold would wonder if I’d gotten you a new one, but it is a fully functional scouter nonetheless.”

“I can contact the boys with this?” she asked, taking it out of the box and examining it.

“No,” he replied. “The boys are on mission so you will still have to wait to contact them. When they get back, I will give you their information so that you can in the future. You _can_ , however contact me. All of my information is in there.”

Bulma tried to swallow her wave of disappointment. All she wanted was to talk to Trunks and Tarble and hear their voices and know that they were alright. “When they are finished and you pick them up, can you call me and let me talk to them then?”

“I can do that,” he agreed.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling as warmly as she could manage. This was a start. With the gps on the scouter, she could use it to configure the time machine; added bonus if it was a few years old. That would mean that _hopefully_ Vegeta-sei’s location was still stored on it and that was the main purpose of her needing a scouter, other than being able to keep in touch with the boys. This would potentially help her out immensely and make her time travel mission possible and not just wishful thinking!

Since she had no knowledge of where the planets were located, she needed exact coordinates so that she could input something and use it as a destination point of interest and an anchor. Then all she would need to do, _hopefully,_ was keep her current location saved and make an easy jump back. Of course, there was the risk she would end up stranded in a void or in another universe altogether and the thought of that still scared her. What if she never made it back and Trunks thought she’d up and abandoned him?

She supposed she could always just give Dende a letter to forward to the boys should the worst case scenario happen and she didn’t return. Quite frankly, _anywhere_ was better than here.

Jeyice finished giving her a quick rundown on how to charge it and how to search for things, not that she needed him to, but she allowed it; and then he left without fuss or expectation of _payment_ , much to both her relief and surprise. Apparently he needed to leave Cold’s base within the hour, much to her relief.

As soon as he left, she began tinkering with her new toy, her hopes renewed.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble laid in the grass, watching the clouds drift by with two other kids their age they had befriended in the four weeks they had spent on planet Eris. They had attempted to contact Jeyice a third time four days ago and still had yet to hear back from him, so they had been taking it easy, doing childish things like getting dirty and exploring; a far cry from the strict soldiers life they were used to.

“What do you guys want to do now?” Marco asked them.

“I don’t know,” Trunks shrugged, “What do you guys wanna do?”

“We could go mountain climbing,” suggested the other boy, Phineas.

“Nah, too close to dinner time,” Marco said, shaking his head.

“I’m happy to just stay here,” Tarble shrugged. They’d never had a chance to just kick back and be kids. The thought of doing nothing at all was still new to them.

“Yea,” Trunks agreed. “You guys can go if you want to, but I think we’ll just stay here.”

“I’m going to go then,” Phineas sighed. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

“Definitely!” Trunks nodded. “We’ll go climbing tomorrow.”

“Okay,” the other boy agreed as Marco got up to leave with him.

The two boys left, leaving Trunks and Tarble to enjoy the solitude of the afternoon on their own.

“Have you checked the scouter today?” Tarble asked.

“No,” Trunks sighed. “We probably should, hey?”

“Ya,” Tarble nodded as Trunks sat up and took the capsule out of his pocket that contained their scouter.

They were both quiet as Trunks turned it on and waited for it to load. “Ya, he called this morning,” Trunks said with a frown, setting it to call him back.

“What took you both so bloody long!” Jeyice snapped at without a greeting. “I have been trying to call you both for _five_ fucking hours!”

“Well we called you three times! Once like _four_ weeks ago and you weren’t there and we told Burter and then we tried again like a week later and again a few days ago and couldn’t get through to anyone, but you also told us to keep our scouters out of sight, so…” Trunks argued defensively, not at all put off by Jeyice’s angry tone.

“So you should have _checked_ in!”

“We did, four days ago, but it’s been really fun here,” Tarble admitted. “We didn’t think there was any real hurry and time just kind of passes by here without you even realizing it.”

“I don’t care! You’re on a very important mission, not a bloody vacation!” he snapped. “Your parent’s wellbeing is on the line! I would have thought that was something important to you!”

“It is,” Trunks sighed. “So can you bring them here now?”

“Did you make contact with your father’s allies?”

“Yes,” Trunks replied. “There’s a few of them here, but because you destroyed that planet we were at, there’s not much help here.”

“So their _main_ base was that aquatic dump we obliterated?” Jeyice asked in confusion.

“I think so?” Trunks answered, looking at Tarble. “We didn’t really ask.”

“Interesting…” Jeyice replied a moment later after a long pause.

“So does that mean we can’t help our parents?” Trunks asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Jeyice replied. “I’ll be in touch within the next day or two, but you’ll need to find out more on what they can do to help, alright?”

“Alright,” Trunks replied and Jeyice disconnected the communication.

“Do you think Jeyice is going to find more help?” Tarble asked after they were silent a few minutes.

“I hope so,” Trunks said, putting the scouter away.

“Should we tell Geralt?”

“I don’t know,” Trunks replied. “It’s probably best to wait until Jeyice comes to get us and then tell him. Just in case he wants to talk to Jeyice and then Jeyice bosses him around and then he decides not to help,”

“You’re probably right,” Tarble agreed, laying back on the grass. “I’m glad we’re helping mom and dad though,”

“Me too,” Trunks said, laying back down again. “Maybe we can stay here. I really like it here and I think mom would too.”

They stayed like that until they knew it was getting close to dinner time. Darby liked it when they pulled vegetables for their meal from the garden and so they usually returned early enough to do that for her. Yes, if they could settle here permanently after everything, they would both be happy and so they felt they were doing the right thing for themselves and their parents.

-0-0-0-

Thanks for reading!

Don’t forget to get on the polls and vote!! :D

 


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE THANK YOU for whoever voted for Endlessly and Butterflies & Hurricanes for the Google Plus Prince and the Heiress Community Annual awards! I placed second in both my nominated categories! So THANK YOU! That means a LOT to me and I was beyond thrilled! Especially since I was up against some stiff competition and placed second to Piccolo is Green and Nitryde. Wow!
> 
> I'm not going to lie, I really, really REALLY struggled getting this out and have discovered that writing battle missions are NOT my thing! Like at all… If I never have to write another one, it won't be too soon! So huge thank you to King Longoria for his help and contribution for this chapter... If it weren't for his suggestions and contributions to the mission, I'd still be sitting here ripping my hair out. The Good news is... The next 2 chapters are just about done.. So it won't be long before another update because I just moved on and worked on those while I was stumped on this chapter… :D

_**Chapter 35** _

"Uh huh," Bulma sighed. "Yea, that's right…" she purred in mock arousal in reply to Jeyice, barely following the conversation as she was on the floor, laying on her back, tightening the bolts on the time machine. She had ignored his calls on the scouter for the last two weeks, knowing it would take him at least that long to get back to his ship where the boys _might_ be.

Today she'd answered only because she hoped he may have news for her. He didn't. Apparently he would be going to them in two days. He'd been angry at her for not taking his calls but she innocently insisted that the scouter had been on silent this whole time and she hadn't heard him calling and claimed she had no clue how to take it off silent.

He seemed to have bought her excuse and she shook her head. If he knew anything about her, he _should_ have known she was a technological genius. If she'd wanted to turn her scouter off silent, she could figure it out in a matter of seconds. She didn't bother pointing it out to him, preferring to play dumb.

However now she was stuck talking dirty to him because she _had_ answered. Good thing she was good at multi-tasking. So she humored him as she worked on her project. In all fairness she _had_ told him she'd talk dirty to him if he got her a scouter so she couldn't complain too much.

"Are you touching yourself now?" he asked.

"Oh am I ever!" she moaned in response, hoping she sounded excited and not sarcastic. "I can barely contain myself."

She grunted and moaned affirmatively a few times at seemingly appropriate times in response to him, even though she was only half listening to him; it wasn't that difficult seeing as the was exerting herself physically while working on her project but her main focus was mainly on what she was doing and _thankfully_ he seemed more than happy to lead the entire conversation so her participation was fairly minimal.

He hissed and grunted and she knew he'd finished himself off.

"Hmmm, that's good," she said alluringly, relieved that it meant she could possibly hang up soon and turn her full attention back to her work.

Jeyice was quiet a moment as he recovered and presumably cleaned up. "You'd like that?" he asked.

"Sure," she sighed wishing he'd let her go now. He usually wasn't much for a conversation after their activities in person. Why would he chatty now?

"You are full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I try,"

"Well I could arrange it," he said suggestively. "And we could try it when I get back if you want,"

"Arrange what?" she asked, suddenly stopping what she was doing. _Shit!_

"You _know_ ," he replied cryptically. "What I just described."

Honestly, she hadn't been paying any attention to the specifics and she felt an unpleasant sensation make its way down her spine and settle deep in her gut. What had she just agreed on and how did she talk her way out of whatever it was? "Oh, I don't know, Jeyice. It sounds like… _fun_... but some things are better off left as fantasy rather than living them, you know?"

"Hmmm," he replied. "I'll let you think about it, but I'd like to try it with you,"

"Right," she replied curtly. _God fucking dammit!_ She cursed herself. She'd have to make sure she was actually paying attention next time. Who knew what she'd just accidentally agreed to! "Well I'm exhausted, Jeyice," she sighed, faking an over exaggerated yawn. "Time for me to go to bed,"

"You're going to go finish yourself off, aren't you?" he asked in a mischievous tone.

"No, I _am_ pretty tired," she said, plainly, no longer interested in pretending to play along just in case he wanted to instigate another round of dirty talk with her. "It was a long day in the lab."

" _Riiight_ ," he chuckled disbelievingly. "Whatever you say, love. Enjoy yourself."

"Oh, I plan to," she said sarcastically. "Good night." She didn't even wait for him to reply before cutting off the line. "Idiot," she grumbled, taking the scouter off her eye and setting it aside.

Bulma had had to go back to building the machine rather than working on the physics of it like she'd hoped. She still wasn't sure how to travel back in time. The scouter Jeyice had given her wasn't much help.

It needed to be programmed. The only thing it could do was contact him. There was a GPS function on it and while she _did_ find Vegeta-sei on it, she could not lock it onto its exact location.

At first, she had thought in despair it was because Vegeta-sei didn't exist anymore, but when Dende looked at it, he told her it was because most of the data and more advanced options had been wiped from it. She needed a second scouter with the information already in it to be able to use to copy and transfer the information onto her scouter to be able to use it properly.

That meant that she needed to find a way to get a hold of Jeyice's scouter when he returned and she had a pretty good idea of how she would get it from him the next time she saw him.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble hadn't found much more information about how much Geralt would be able to help them or Jeyice out. He was very vague and tight-lipped about anything pertaining to their rebellion.

"Maybe he knows that Jeyice destroyed his planet," Trunks sighed, worried that Jeyice would be angry with them for not learning more in the additional two weeks they'd had.

"I don't think so," Tarble shook his head as he let his feet dangle into a pond they frequented nearly every day. "He probably thinks because we are kids, that we can't really help with anything."

"Maybe," Trunks shrugged. "I guess we'll find out later when Jeyice gets here."

"Did he say when?"

"No, just that it would be today some time and to keep the scouter on so he can find us."

They stayed by the pond, lazing about for a few hours goofing around amongst themselves until an accented voice suddenly startled them. "Is this all you two little wank stains have been doing this entire time?" Jeyice snipped at them, walking out from the brush and in front of them.

"Well," Trunks shrugged, startled by Jeyice's sudden and unexpected appearance. Unsure of what to say, he stood up; barefooted, his pants rolled up to his knees.

"We also went fishing, hunting and mountain climbing," Tarble said in a helpful tone, pulling his socks on, trying to look somewhat presentable.

"Splendid," he said sarcastically. "Nice to see you both took a vacation on King Cold's dime while your parents are toiling and wasting away back home."

"We did what you asked us, and they won't tell us anything more because I don't think they can even help us, Jeyice," Trunks said, straightening himself out and pulling on his shoes.

"Right," Jeyice snorted, clicking buttons on his scouter, scanning the area. There wasn't much to be found. From what he could tell, this was a very weak planet and he assumed that this mission would be a complete waste of his time. "Take me back to whatever back water place you've been residing in."

The boys nodded. That was probably a good idea. Jeyice could talk to Fenton and then he would introduce him to Geralt and then maybe they could start working out a plan. They made it back to the house and walked into the living room where he was, reading a book on his own.

"Fenton, we need to talk to you,"

"What is it, boys?" he asked cheerfully. Truth be told, he hadn't minded their stay with him and his wife these past few weeks.

"Well, Jeyice is our mentor. He found us today and wants to help us all with our plan to get our parents free from Cold." Trunks said. "So we brought him here to talk to you and Geralt."

Fenton frowned, putting down his book immediately. He didn't know Jeyice personally, but he recognized the armor he was wearing as being a part of King Cold's army. He knew the boys had escaped King Cold's custody, but it had not occurred to him that they would be found here by one of his soldiers.

"Delighted to meet you," Jeyice said. "Much thanks are in order for looking after the boys. I was quite worried about them. They said you and a few others here are going to help them with freeing their parents?"

Fenton looked at the boys who were looking hopefully at him. He was not sure if this soldier was to be trusted or not. The boys looked to be comfortable and not fearful of him.

"You can trust Jeyice," Trunks said to him, picking up on his hesitation.

"Ya, Jeyice pretty much raised us." Tarble added. "He only wants to help."

"Very well," he replied, though his gut was telling him that something was very wrong with this picture despite the boys' reassurance. "I will bring Geralt here to discuss things. Darby, would you prepare a few refreshments; it would seem that we will be having some company this afternoon."

"Sure thing," she nodded, heading into the kitchen.

"You boys did _not_ tell me that Geralt was here," he hissed at them quietly as soon as they were alone.

"We didn't think it mattered," Trunks shrugged.

"It matters _a lot_ ," he sighed, pacing about the room. "Though I did suspect he was here anyway." Jeyice's scouter chimed on his face just then. He could not help but smile. _Right on schedule,_ he thought to himself. Soon, things would be wrapped up here and he could make his way back up to his favorite blue companion.

"This is Burter. I'm in position."

"Recoome here, in position."

"Excellent. Stand by and await my command."

A few minutes later, Fenton returned with Geralt and a handful of other supposed resistance members.

"Geralt!" Jeyice exclaimed in mock friendliness as though they were great friends who had not seen each other in ages. "Imagine running into you here! I have been trying to get a hold of you for _weeks_ now!"

Geralt glared at him. "What did you do to my planet?"

"It is not really a matter of what _I_ did to your planet, but what _you_ did to your planet," Jeyice shrugged.

_Oh, no,_ Trunks thought to himself in dread. _He's going to tell him._ He knew Tarble was thinking the exact same thing as they looked at each other discreetly.

"What are you talking about?" Geralt asked. "I know it was _you_ who destroyed my planet. Either you or someone else from King Cold's PTO army."

"Well, if you had paid Cold, like you were supposed to, or had kept in touch, _maybe_ it would not have happened. You don't call, or write. What's a king to think? You left your _poor_ wife alone to deal with matters. Poor, lonely, _pretty_ thing," he taunted him. "And yes, it was _me_ who destroyed it."

Geralt snarled at him I anger, even though he'd already suspected as much.

"Now I hear that you are leader of a rebellion, hiding out on this _dump_. Doesn't look good, mate," Jeyice said in a condescending tone as though he were reprimanding a young child. "Does not look good at all."

"Just leave," Geralt said to him. "You have taken everything from me, my home and family are forever gone. There _is_ no rebellion here."

"That's not what I hear," Jeyice said, looking at the boys. "According to these two, you were planning to over throw King Cold and aid in the escape of Prince Vegeta and his wife."

Geralt looked at the boys with regret. He'd had a gut feeling that taking them in had been a bad idea. However they were just two young boys who had appeared to want nothing more than to escape capture and free their parents from captivity. Looking at them, however, he could tell they hadn't intentionally betrayed them. They had been used by Jeyice as a way in. They had been pawns and nothing more and he felt sorry for not being able to help them.

"Nothing to say?" Jeyice smirked at him. "That's treason you just committed, you know."

Geralt held up his hand at Jeyice to try and calm the situation down. He knew he was in a lot of trouble and was thankful he had brought back up with him. As soon as Fenton had said that a member of King Cold's army had shown up for the boys, he had ordered others to accompany him. If there was just one of him and several of them, that had to count for something, right?

Mistaking his hand gesture for an attempt at firing a ki attack at him, Jeyice shot at him with his own ball of ki so quickly, the boys hadn't seen it and Geralt hadn't had the time to react to deflect or counter it. Fenton and one of the other rebel leaders he had been with looked in shock at their fallen leader and retreated back out into the next room.

A blue light shot out of the doorway that the last rebel had gone through. Jeyice deflected it with a simple swipe of his hand. It was pathetically weak, just as he expected. He could hardly believe these rebels were worth the trouble, but orders were orders. The deflected ki ended up hitting Fenton's wife, Darby, who had come scurrying in to see what all the noise was. She dropped dead immediately on the floor.

Both Trunks and Tarble gasped in shock. What was going on? Why had Jeyice fired at Geralt?

"Commence attack on all targets," Jeyice ordered in his scouter as he shot his own red beam back.

"Roger that," Burter chimed in.

"Will do," Recoome acknowledged.

Jeyice could hear a groan from the shadows as his attack hit home. He heard a satisfying thud as the body hit the ground. One down, a few thousand to go, he thought. His scouter beeped again as several power levels were converging on his position.

"Boys," he snapped.

Trunks and Tarble snapped to attention with confused looks on their faces, looking from Darby to Geralt. They were unsure how things had gone so badly so quickly. Why were they fighting each other? They should not be fighting, they should be working together with the people here.

"You two change into your armor and go rendezvous with Recoome and assist him," Jeyice ordered them.

"What is Recoome doing?" Tarble asked; they had been under the impression that Jeyice had come alone.

"Find him on your scouter and you'll see when you get there," Jeyice assured them.

"I don't understand," Trunks admitted.

"Are you soldiers or little boys?" Jeyice rhetorically asked them, having drilled the answer into them.

"Soldiers, Sir," both the boys replied in unison.

"You have your orders, soldiers. This now a _combat_ mission," Jeyice informed them. "They weren't really going to help your parents and it is a good thing I got here when I did."

"Yes, Sir," they both called out with pride even though they were still terribly confused.

"Carry on soldiers. Go accomplish your mission," Jeyice commanded with his hands clasped behind his back.

Trunks and Tarble saluted their commander and flew off to join Recoome on his mission as soon as they changed from their casual clothes and back into their armor. Jeyice grinned at his two little soldiers. While he hated the assignment, they sure were becoming good soldiers. Perhaps King Cold wasn't completely crazy. Training young soldiers was panning out.

He had initially worried their time on this little mud ball would soften them. However, all it took was calling on their training and identity as soldiers. The little ones knew nothing else and it had been ingrained into them since the time they learned to walk and talk. Apparently, their conditioning has paid off. They would always be soldiers now after this.

"There he is! Get him!" a cloaked rebel yelled behind him.

Six cloaked rebels now appeared behind him as he turned around. Seriously, the dark cloaked look? _Could these morons be any more cliché?_ Jeyice wondered. He quickly checked his scouter and let out a chuckle. More of the same, just cannon fodder, these people were no match for him. He let out an exasperated sigh. He'd rather be wrapped up in a carnal embrace with his favorite blue female distraction. Oh well, if he killed them all quickly he could get back to enjoying her nightly for a little while before Cold sent him on another mission.

"Let's get this over with," Jeyice declared in a bored tone, as he lifted his hands and emitted a red aura.

-0-0-0-

The boys located Recoome fairly easily and landed where he was waiting for them. It appeared to be an empty park overlooking the spaceport. The giant was busy scanning the area with his scouter before he acknowledged the boys. They both grinned. They loved working with Recoome he always made things fun, even in training.

"Squad members, Trunks and Tarble reporting for duty," Trunks announced formally as he saluted Recoome. He still wasn't sure what was going on or what had gone wrong with everything, but felt better about working with Recoome.

Recoome returned their salute and answered, "Good job, soldiers. You ready to have some fun?" he asked with a toothy grin, wagging his eyebrows.

"Yes, Sir," they both proclaimed with smiles on their faces, feeling instantly better.

"All right soldiers, in this exercise we are going to practice your ki beams on moving targets," Recoome told them.

"That sounds like fun," Tarble commented.

"What kind of targets will they be?" Trunks queried.

"Spaceships, any minute now there should be ships leaving the port. Our task is to destroy them before they get into the atmosphere. The one who destroys the most ships is the winner," Recoome informed them.

"Anything else?" Tarble asked.

"Yeah, you have to do it with _style_. That means making up your own signature move along with your own poses," Recoome said with a goofy grin as a ship rocketed into the sky.

Recoome did one of his signature poses, "Recoome Doom!"

His signature beam erupted from his mouth and blasted the ship from the sky. Both the boys squealed with laughter. They knew it was going to be a fun game with real, moving targets. They never got to play with real stuff before.

"Just like that soldiers," Recoome declared, "That's one point Recoome."

Trunks poked his brother in the arm and bragged, "I'm going to beat you."

"No way Trunks, I'm gonna win this time," Tarble retorted.

A ship flew up into the sky. Both the boys were excited. They could not wait to light up the sky. It looked so cool when Recoome did it.

Trunks copied Recoome's dance moves before calling out, "Trunks Beam!"

His blue white blast flew towards his targets engulfing it in flames before it exploded. Trunks and Tarble cried out excitedly and laughed together. Trunks began his own version of the dance of victory.

Recoome cracked a smile at the young ones; Captain Ginyu would have been so proud!

"Not bad, I especially like your moves, but the name needs work," Recoome critiqued.

"Yea… Trunks Beam sounds _lame_ ," Tarble teased.

" _You're_ lame," Trunks countered shoving Tarble.

"Boys! Focus!" Recoome ordered them in a serious tone.

"Sorry Recoome," they both said together.

Recoome flashed a toothy grin, "No problem, just remember we still have a job to do, even if this is a training exercise."

"Yes, Sir!" they both answered excitedly as another silver ship left the port raising itself slowly in the horizon.

"Looks like you are up Tarble. Let's see what you got," Recoome informed the boy.

Tarble did a quick spin move and focused his ki in his hands. He was not going to lose to his brother. Not this time. He did a quick summersault and landed on the balls of his feat.

"Tarble Ray!" he called and released his blast into the heavens.

He leaped in the air with joy as the beam hit its target. It blew up into pieces and looked awesome as the burning wreckage streaked through the sky. Tarble decided to do his own dance of victory and even balanced on his tail for good measure just to show off a bit.

"Not bad, I especially liked the bit with the tail," Recoome declared with a thumbs up and a smile.

"Eh, the name was lacking," Trunks commented snidely.

"And _Trunks Beam_ was any better?" Tarble teased him.

"Shut up!" Trunks shouted at his brother.

"You shut up!" Tarble retorted.

Recoome simply laughed at their antics. _I guess boys will be boys,_ he thought. His scouter chimed in again as three more ships took off. This really was a fun assignment, even if he had been ordered by Jeyice to tell the boys it was nothing more than a training exercise. Blowing things up _was_ his specialty after all.

"Look alive soldiers, there is one for each of us," Recoome said with a malicious grin. "And go!"

The night sky was filled with ki blasts that night of various colors and sizes. Many ships took off from the spaceport but none escaped. Streaks of hot metal lit the sky and created both a deadly and beautiful sight. If there were any visitors to the park that night, they would have seen the peculiar sight of three dancing figures at the center of it all.

-0-0-0-

A small group of a few women and several children were making their way hastily towards the emergency evacuation point in the spaceport. Each one was wondering how things could have gone so wrong. One minute they were enjoying a peaceful night just like they always had and the next the alarms were going off and explosions could be seen and heard throughout the complex.

Of course they were mixed up with rebels and dissidents from all over the empire, but there was also a substantial number of orphans and refugees here as well; this was supposed to be a planet of refuge from all of the galactic wars. The Imperial forces had never found them before, however. None of them had any idea what had changed for them. Though from the corpses they had rushed past on their way to the evacuation point, it was obvious something seriously had happened. Something had gone wrong.

As the group rounded a corner, they were brought to a halt as a chilling scream could be heard nearby along with a bright flash of light. Someone was close. A young mousy haired woman turned around and shushed the children along with everyone else. Maybe just _maybe_ if they were quiet they could sneak by.

The group began to walk carefully, as quietly as they could so as not to attract attention. The young brunette could see flashing lights of the spaceport in the distance. They were _so_ close. Just a few more minutes and they would be safe; home free and off this planet. They could figure out where to go after.

Then they heard something that chilled them to the bone. A scraping sound could be heard. Something sharp was being ground against the walls and coming closer to them. The brunette wanted to run. She wanted to just lead them all into a sprint, but she was torn. Sprinting mean she could lose some of the children and there were not enough adults to pick up every child.

"There is no escape," a creepy reptilian voice called from the darkness. "I'm going to find you."

"We must hurry," the girl whispered to her companions at a barely audible level, not wanting to give their exact position away. If they were cautious and quiet, maybe they could outsmart who or _what_ ever was tracking them.

The rest of the group merely nodded. She could tell some of the children were on the brink of tears. They were so frightened. To encourage them, the woman swallowed the lump in her own throat and gave them and encouraging smile, quite a feat considering if she were alone she would be shaking from head to toe.

She put her hand on a little boys shoulder and encouraged him, "It will be all right we are almost there. See? That's the spaceport."

The little boy nodded softly fighting back tears. The woman turned around and motion for the group to follow her. She was comforted by the fact that with each step they took, it meant they were further away from the scraping sound. Matter of fact, she could barely here it in the darkness.

She stopped before one last corner and signaled for the group to stop. They were close now, really close. She could hear the sounds of starships being powered up and loaded nearby. She peeked around the corner and breathed out a sigh of relief. There was nothing there. Across the abandoned street there were the gates of the spaceport.

"Is it clear?" a woman asked in a hushed tone.

The brunette smiled back at her, "It's clear; nothing between us and the spaceport. We made it."

The children let of a cry of joy. Despite wanting to join in themselves in rejoicing, the adults silenced the little ones; things were not over yet. They had to make it just a little further. They could celebrate all they wanted once they had made it inside of a ship and were in the atmosphere.

The young woman signaled for them all to follow her. She had done it. She nearly collapsed with effort as they made their way to edge of the street. Despite all the alarms and confusion at least their little group had made it out.

Just as she had heaved a heavy sigh of relief, she heard a sound that made her heart clutch in her breast, the chilling scraping sound again. This time it was much closer and accompanied by someone humming a song to himself. The group turned around to see a large blue skinned reptile in imperial armor running his claws along the buildings of the alley. They could just barely make him out in the darkness of the alley with the help of the streetlamps ahead.

"Well that was a fun little game of hide and seek," Burter told them with a menacing tone.

"Please, you don't have to do this," the brunette pleaded with him.

"You know this is always the assignment that is the least fun," he informed her in a knowing tone. "But you know how it is; orders are orders."

The children began crying all around her. This creature invoked feelings of terror and dread. The young woman could empathize with them. They were practically finished.

"At least let the little ones go," she tried to reason bravely with him.

"Sorry, they are part of the package," Burter announced. "If it makes you feel any better I'll make it quick."

-0-0-0-

It had not taken them long to make quick work of the planet. Recoome and the boys had taken out anything that had attempted to leave and Jeyice and Burter had destroyed anyone whom they had come across.

Jeyice had ordered Recoome to take the boys back to the ship once he was confident any and all ships were disabled. Recoome had taken the boys to the launch dock to disable anything that had not been deployed yet, rendering escape impossible. There was another emergency escape dock, but Burter confirmed that he had taken care of it. With nothing else to do and with Jeyice's strict orders that the boys not be involved with any personal combat, he took them back to their ship and was preparing them a dessert as a reward for their efforts. It was one of his own personal rituals he had adopted over the years, except he usually drowned his ice cream with liquor.

"So whoever won, can they get an extra scoop?" Trunks asked anxiously as they watched Recoome impatiently dish out the frozen delicacy.

"Hmmm," Recoome hummed in deliberation. Truthfully, he had not really been keeping track of who had destroyed more. He had only played on their competitive nature to keep them focused on the task at hand and not ask questions as to _why_ they were destroying moving ships. _To be a child again,_ he mused to himself, feeling almost bad that it wouldn't be long before their innocence would be shattered and they would be faced with the cold, harsh fact that any mission for King Cold was a killing mission, not a _training exercise._ "Well, I think you both did good. You did it a lot quicker than what Jeyice thought you could."

"Really?" Trunks asked, pleased that they had apparently exceeded Jeyice's expectations. "But who got more?"

"I'm not sure, so I'll tell you what, you both will get an extra scoop _and_ I'll share a bit of my magic syrup with ya, how's that?"

"Fine by me!" Tarble shrugged. They'd had ice cream from Recoome many times, but never had he shared his syrup with them.

Recoome laughed at them as they scrunched their noses when they smelled it on their desserts. "It's great stuff you guys, don't be wasting it!"

"But it smells weird," Trunks objected, eyeing it strangely.

"It's good for ya…" Recoome insisted, taking a drink from the bottle. "It'll put hair on your chest and make you stronger."

Both boys looked at each other and shrugged before digging in. Who were they to dispute that?

"That's not bad," Tarble nodded. "It's sweet but bitter kind of,"

"It makes my throat and chest warm," Trunks added, happily eating his ice cream.

Recoome nodded, smiling at them. "Want some more?" he asked, picking up the bottle and wagging it at them temptingly.

"Sure!" they both nodded happily, pushing their bowls towards him.

It was about another half hour before Jeyice and Burter returned, both covered in blood and carnage. Burter launched their ship immediately, wanting to get off this rock. They had effectively levelled it to nothing in short order. Not knowing whether or not King Cold wanted to keep it, restore it and then turn around to sell it, they agreed to leave it intact and let him decide.

Once in the air, Jeyice went to find the boys and get the full report from Recoome as to how they had done. He was confident they had finished everything without a hiccup. He found the three of them in the kitchen; Trunks and Tarble trying to balance a pose, but having difficulty and Recoome laughing at them.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" he asked in annoyance, the smell of alcohol smacking his senses. "Recoome, are they bloody _drunk?"_

"Uhh… Maybe?" Recoome chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "A little? I'm not sure."

"Are _you_ fucking drunk as well!"

"Heeyy," Trunks drawled at him. "We are _not_ drunk,"

"I think we're alright… but can't feel my nose," Tarble said with a frown, closing one eye and then the other, trying to look at his nose. "Hey, what happened to you?" he asked, only noticing his soiled and blood stained armor.

"For fuck sakes," Jeyice cursed. "Go to your room. I'll talk to you lot in the morning!"

"Why are you mad?" Trunks asked in confusion. "Everything is great!"

"Yea! I think you should have some of Recoome's magic sauce or whatever. It goes _great_ on-"

"Boys, just go an' get some shut eye, it's been a long day," Recoome interrupted him.

"Okay," they nodded.

"Come to think of it, I _am_ pretty tired," Trunks yawned, getting up to leave.

"Drink plenty of water before going to bed!" Jeyice hollered after them as they bumbled happily down the hall giggling over something or other. "Are you out of your _fucking_ mind Recoom!?"

"Awe take it easy, boss," Recoome brushed him off, sliding a glass down the table towards him and then the bottle. "They did very well. Besides, they'll be asleep the second they lie down,"

"They're _boys_!" Jeyice snarled, snatching the bottle and pouring himself a drink.

"Not for long," Recoome said. "They handled themselves well, though they still thought it was a game and nothing more than training purposes. But Cold is going to want them out and completing missions for real soon, you know that. Let them have some enjoyment."

"Wonderful and they'll be puking all over the place in the morning," he snorted. "Just lovely."

"You're over reacting," Recoome insisted. "Don't tell me you didn't get rip, snortin' drunk with your captain after your first mission when you were that age,"

Jeyice snorted. "What does it matter?"

"Just let them me and have some fun and be boys for a little," Recoome sad easily. "Within the next three months or so, they'll be made to do the _real_ dirty work."

"Right," he agreed. He finished his drink quickly and made his way back to his quarters to shower and change into clean clothes before calling King Cold to make his report.

The next day the boys got up at their regular time to have some breakfast and begin training for the day. They were a bit tired, but were fine, considering the alcohol consumption from the previous day.

"You boys are up bright an' early," Jeyice commented.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Tarble asked with a frown.

"You guys were pissed last night after the mission," he snorted. "You're not all sick and woozy?"

"They didn't have _that_ much, Jeyice," Recoome sighed. "Just enough to give them a bit of a buzz and take the edge off."

"No, we're fine," Trunks shrugged.

"Good," Jeyice said. "Once you've eaten, it's back to drills as usual."

"Yes, sir," they both replied.

"Recoome said you both did very well," he told them. "But that does not mean that we quit training after one successful mission."

"Successful?" Trunks snorted. He had had a very difficult time sleeping last night once his buzz had worn off; he could not stop thinking about how things had gone from good to bad in mere minutes of Jeyice showing up. They had talked about it between them in their room before dozing off and Tarble felt the same way. How were they supposed to help their parents out now when the only people who had wanted to help were now dead?

"Yes, _successful,_ " Jeyice answered. "King Cold is very pleased with all of us-"

"But I thought he wasn't supposed to know about us being there or that these people were going to help?" Tarble cut in.

Jeyice and Recoome looked at each other.

"What?" both boys asked. "Did King Cold find out we were there and that's why things went terrible?"

"Not exactly," Jeyice shrugged, debating for a moment on whether or not he should tell them. "Look, those people have been trying to undermine King Cold for a long time now. They _were_ going to help you getting your parents out, were they not?"

"Yea," Trunks nodded. "Well, they _were_. You told us to find out about it and we did and then all that happened."

"They said they knew our dad," Tarble volunteered. "So why did you do just come in and kill them?"

" _You_ did your full share of killing as well, boys," he countered, not liking that they were ganging up on him. "You're not exactly innocent in all of this either."

"We didn't kill anyone," Tarble replied with a frown and looking at Trunks.

"We did target practice with Recoome."

"Right, and what exactly do you think you were shooting at?" he asked, leading them down the path of realization.

"Ships?" Trunks asked. "I don't know, Recoome said we were to practice ki blasts on moving targets so we did."

"Alright and what do you think was _in_ those ships?" he asked. "Better yet, _why_ do you think they were taking off?"

Both boys went white at the realization that they had more than likely just killed a bunch of innocents. _Just like Jeyice_. "There were people in there?" Tarble asked.

"Uh-huh," Jeyice nodded. "Probably several people in _each_ ship or pod. Whole families too, probably.

"Jeyice," Recoome reprimanded him. "Go easy on them, hey?"

"You knew?" Trunks asked him accusingly. "You said it was a _game._ "

"Well, it _was_ ," he shrugged, trying to look on the positive side of things, but not liking that Jeyice was choosing to tell them this now. "I mean, maybe some of them were empty, we don't really know now, do we?"

"Shut up, Recoome," Jeyice snorted. "Boys, your part of the mission was to prevent anyone from leaving that planet once the battle had started. You should be proud of yourselves. You did a great job. There is no one left planning a coup against King Cold now. Those people were _not_ to be trusted. You did a good thing; can't have scum like that mucking around the universe."

"But they were nice," Tarble objected. "They were good people who just wanted to help us with our parents. I thought _you_ wanted to help and that was the whole point. You told us to tell them about our father."

"Yes, I needed to confirm that they were indeed the people we were looking for," Jeyice nodded.

"So you just used us and we killed a whole bunch of people." Trunks said blandly.

"I suppose you could put it that way," Jeyice shrugged. "However it was executed brilliantly, so don't take it too hard. You both fell into line perfectly, like good soldiers are supposed to."

"But what about our parents?"

"What about them?" Jeyice shrugged. "They're prisoners of King Cold. Your father is never getting out, ever. He's _fortunate_ that King Cold has even kept him alive for whatever reason. He should have been executed. Your mother, is a different story. She must remain because of you two."

They were quiet, unsure of what to say. So Jeyice had had no intention of helping their parents.

"The point isn't that I lied to you, the point is would you have befriended those people if you would have known that we were going to take them out anyway and would you have shot at all those ships if you had _known_ that they were occupied?"

"No," Tarble replied.

"Exactly," Jeyice replied sarcastically, clapping. "It does not matter how you get the end result, but that the game is the same so really, the ends justifies the means."

"It does?" Trunks snorted. "I knew it yesterday that something was wrong after we went to bed."

"Nothing is _wrong!_ " Jeyice exclaimed. "In fact it is far from wrong, it is right! More than right. You boys did well and should be proud of yourselves, now either eat something or go train. There is nothing left to be said on the issue. Everyone is gone, Cold is happy and he even gets an extra planet to sell on the side if he so wishes, it's a win for us all."

"It sure doesn't feel that way," Trunks sighed, getting up. He suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

"Get used to it, boys, next time you may be required to be involved in physical combat." he advised them as they left the room.

"Why would you tell them that?" Recoome asked in a tone that denoted his disapproval once they were gone.

"They need to grow up some time," he snorted. "Might as well be now. What do you give a shit about it? You're just pissed because they know that you mislead them as well."

"They do need to grow up some time, but I think there is still plenty of time for that," Recoome advised. "I'd have let them go on thinking that this was a rescue mission for their parents gone wrong rather than telling them that they were deceived and helped destroy a bunch of people they stayed with for a few weeks. They are still soft. I don't think they were ready for that."

"Which is why I felt it exactly necessary to inform them," he replied. "King Cold is going to tell them anyway when they go in for debriefing. Do you think he'll give a shit about their feelings? They need to toughen up."

"I suppose," Recoome agreed.

"Whatever, I'd better call their mother an' let her know that we are on our way back before she has a conniption," he sighed. "Whiney bitch that she is."

"That will make them feel better," Recoome agreed.

-0-0-0-

Bulma looked at the blinking scouter, debating on answering it or not… She didn't particularly _feel_ like talking to Jeyice, but it had been three days since she'd spoken to him last and it was possible that he would have the boys with him finally.

Curiosity to find out and know how they were doing won out and so she answered it finally. "Hello?"

"About bloody time, love!" came Jeyice's exasperated voice on the other end. "Did you not figure out how to take that thing off silent?"

"Nope, can't figure it out," she sighed.

"I thought you were supposed to be a bloody genius or something?"

"I _am_!" she snipped at him. "On _my_ planet with _my_ technology, not alien technology."

"Ohh, right," he replied after considering that a moment. "Anyway, I have the boys. We successfully purged not one, but _two_ planets. I'm impressed with them."

Bulma swallowed down a lump in her throat that her boys would have been involved with killing and whatever all else was involved with a purge. She didn't know what else she should have been expecting. They had been raised to be soldiers practically from infancy; what else would they be doing out there? Hearing it confirmed that they had been a part of something like that, however was different and she felt so sorry that they were a part of that now.

"Can I speak with them?" she asked hesitantly.

"I suppose," he replied. "Hang on,"

About a minute later she heard Trunks on the other line. "Mom?"

"Hi sweetie! How are you?" she asked, feeling emotional at just hearing his voice after all this time. "How's Tarble?"

"We're okay," he replied, though his tone said otherwise. "We are on our way back."

"You sure you're okay?" she asked in concern. "Jeyice gave me my own scouter. Maybe you can ask him for the info and call me later if you want to talk on your own when he's not around."

"Okay," he replied, sounding a little happier with that thought but still sounding down. "Do you want to talk to Tarble?"

"Sure!"

Trunks handed the scouter to Tarble. "Mom wants to talk to you."

"Hi," Tarble said into it.

"Hey, sweetie! How are you guys doing?" she asked happily.

"We're good," he replied. "We are on our way back. We have lots to tell you!"

"I'll look forward to hearing all of it!" she smiled. "I told Trunks that I have a scouter of my own now too so ask Jeyice for the contact info and you both can call me any time to talk."

"Ok. We'll call you before we are back," Tarble agreed. That was good!

"See you soon and look after each other, alright?"

"We will," Tarble said, handing the scouter back to Jeyice.

"Make sure they are able to call me on my scouter, please." she said to Jeyice.

"Right," he sighed.

She hung up on him before he could say anything else to her. She felt more than content that she had just been able to talk the boys, even if it had only been for a couple of minutes. Just hearing their voices and knowing that they were alright was enough for her at the moment. She was worried about what had gone on and she picked up from Trunks tone that he was upset about something, however she did not expect him to discuss it in front of Jeyice.

Bulma hoped that they would call her while on their way back.

She smiled and decided to go out into the lab and see if there was anything else to do. It had been slow as of late, so she assumed not, but she wanted to tell Vegeta she had spoken to the boys and that they were alright and on their way back. She still wasn't sure if he heard her or not, but she still felt better about talking to him every day and telling him about the boys or what she was doing. She'd told him lots about her time machine project. He never responded or gave her any indication that he comprehended anything she told him, but it never stopped her from talking to him anyway. Some days she felt it helped her from going insane and other days she felt it was a sign that she was slowly losing her marbles.

-0-0-0-

It had taken Jeyice and the boys a full month to return to Cold's base. They had taken advantage of Bulma having a scouter of her own and called her nearly every day; though they had not told her anything specific about their mission or trip or anything.

She hadn't been sure if that had been a good thing or not.

"Hello, love," Jeyice greeted her in the lab.

"Where are the boys?" she asked, not bothering to greet him.

"They're doing a debriefing with King Cold about the mission and then they will come see you, relax," he replied snarkily.

"Oh, good," she replied. "Thank you,"

"All part of the _agreement_ ," he said. "Look, I want you to come have dinner with me tonight at my place. I cleared it with Cold, you are allowed."

"Oh, Jeyice, thank you but I'd really rather-"

"You're coming," he said firmly. "And wear something _nice_ if you can manage it. I'll be making sure dinner is _spectacular._ "

"Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him.

"Because I said so, that's why," he sighed in annoyance. "Do you have anything nice to wear and actually do yourself up a bit?"

"I do," she nodded. She still had all of her things packed from when she had been prepared to leave Vegeta-sei. "I'll see what I can scrounge up."

"Good," he nodded. "I'll come for you in a few hours. See you then,"

Bulma rolled her eyes as he left, however this may be her perfect opportunity to test out her tranquilizer drug she'd been working on _and_ get a hold of his scouter and transfer the information from it onto hers. If he was at his own place, he'd be more relaxed and she would be able to get everything she needed done hopefully while he was passed out.

She left the lab and went to shower, hoping to get done before the boys came to see her. They hadn't arrived yet when she was finished showering, so she took the opportunity to go through her clothing and makeup and find something decent to wear. She wanted Jeyice to be completely off guard and trusting of her.

However, she hadn't realized it, but she had lost quite a bit of weight since she had been here. Some of her very form fitting dresses that used to accentuate her curves, just hung on her now and she had a very difficult time finding anything that looked flattering on her.

She finally settled for a black and royal blue striped body con dress that had been one size fits all. The diagonal design of the blue and black stripes gave the illusion that she was still curvy and was quite flattering to her small frame. Next, she found a matching black lace pair of very sexy underwear that its only function had been to cover the essentials. It wasn't meant for support or anything practical.

Bulma frowned as she looked at it. It fit and was still very flattering on her, but Vegeta had gotten it for her. She didn't _want_ to wear it for Jeyice. It was easily one of the most feminine lingerie garments she owned and he had gone out and bought it for her while she had been designing her plasma device on some planet that had been more advanced than any other planet she had seen. Unfortunately, she'd never gotten the opportunity to wear it for him. She had been saving it for a special occasion and things had spiraled so far out of control, she hadn't had the chance.

She put it on under her casual pants, and top she usually lounged around in, despite wishing she had something else to wear, and began styling her hair and doing her makeup while she waited for the boys to come see her. It had taken her a lot longer to get ready than she thought; it had been so long since she had actually done her makeup she felt like she barely remembered how to do it properly.

They came just as she was nearly ready.

"I'm so excited to see you guys!" she cried, rushing over to them and hugging them both.

"Don't cry, mom," Trunks said awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I just really missed you,"

"You look really pretty," Tarble commented.

"Thank you," she replied, indicating for them to sit down. "So, tell me about your trip."

Trunks shrugged, but sat down next to Tarble. "It was alright,"

"Just alright?" she pressed. "I know you guys were technically working, so I'm sure it wasn't all fun, but you must have seen some cool things and had _some_ fun at some point."

"Well, Jeyice did let us go shopping at one planet for clothes and stuff. They had the best food ever there. We'd have liked to bring you back some, but I don't think it would have kept." Trunks said.

"That's okay, you thought of it, that's the only thing that counts." she said lightly.

"We also got to stay on a planet for a few weeks and we got to camp and fish and hike," Tarble said. "It was fun. We slept in until late too,"

"Yea, it was alright," Trunks shrugged.

"I thought you loved it there," Tarble said.

"I did, but what does it matter now?" he asked, still sounding downtrodden.

"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, desperately wanting to know. She assumed they had been forced to do things that they either did not want to do or weren't ready to do.

"Nothing," he sighed irritably. "Just going on missions isn't as fun as we thought it would be is all."

"Yea," Tarble agreed.

"Well do you want to talk about it?" she asked, sitting between them.

"Jeyice says we aren't supposed to." Tarble said, which was true, but they were both also afraid that their mother would be angry with them for not only what happened on the planet they had been occupying but the other planet as well.

"Alright," she nodded. "Well I won't tell him if you want to talk about it so if you change your minds, let me know."

They didn't say anything for a little while and it became an awkward silence.

"The one planet that we stayed on, we thought they were going to help us get you and dad out," Tarble finally said. "That's what they said and then Jeyice showed up to make plans and everything went wrong."

Bulma nodded but didn't say anything, feeling it was better to just let him talk.

"They were very nice people," Trunks said. "We stayed with them and thought that it would even be a nice place for you and dad to come live if we could get you guys out. The one guy in charge said he knew dad."

"Oh?" she commented with interest.

"He didn't know you, but he said dad was a good person and they wanted to work with him before he ended up here and help us get him out. Everyone thinks he's dead, mom," Trunks told her.

"Ya but they wanted to help get you guys out." Tarble said. "Then Jeyice came and we don't really know what happened, but everything went bad. They all started fighting and now they're all dead."

She felt her stomach drop. As she suspected, no one knew they were here or alive even and now the only other people who had known were gone. Not only that, what had the boys done? Had they participated in this? _Probably._ She wasn't sure if she wanted to ask or not.

"So Jeyice killed Geralt, the guy whose planet he blew up on the first mission because he wasn't there and then he sent us to this other planet," Trunks began to explain quickly. "Then we went to where Recoome was and we thought we were doing a training exercise but…"

"It's okay," Bulma said soothingly, placing a hand on his back.

"No it isn't!" he cried, standing up and walking away from her.

"We shot down ships with people inside trying to escape." Tarble said quietly, looking at the floor, hoping that their mother wouldn't be angry with them. "We didn't even think. We just did as we were told and Recoome made it sound like it was a game."

"So not only did we do it, we had _fun_ doing it!"

Bulma felt an unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to say something to make them feel better, but had no idea what to say. She'd never found herself in any such predicament and she couldn't imagine how she would feel in their shoes. She didn't really understand the whole story but from what she could glean, it sounded as though they had been used and tricked into following Jeyice's orders.

She wished now more than anything that she could have at least been able to contact Vegeta mentally if for no other reason that he could tell her what to say and how to react. He was the only one who would have any indication of what they were feeling over this and would be able to talk them through it. Anything she would have to say wouldn't be of any help.

"You're mad at us, aren't you?" Trunks asked accusingly as the awkward silence dragged on and on as she tried to think of something comforting to say to them.

"Oh no, sweetie. I'm not mad at you at all!" she shook her head. "I'm just…"

"You're upset,"

"Yes, I am, but not with you boys," she insisted. "Actually I was just wishing how badly you could talk to your father. He would know what to say because I'm sure he's been through exactly what you just did. I never have and so I cannot even pretend to understand. If I'm upset and angry at anyone, it's Jeyice and King Cold for putting you in this position. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But we killed people," Tarble said, still looking at the floor in shame.

"Not on purpose," she reasoned. "Did you know you were killing people?"

"No," he answered. "But we feel stupid because we _should_ have known, so that makes it even worse."

"Okay, but if Recoome would have told you that you were killing people off, would you have still shot at those ships?" she asked, trying to reason it out that way.

"I don't think so, no," he said.

"Who knows, we would have gotten in trouble if we hadn't though," Trunks pointed out bitterly. "So we'd have still probably done it anyway!"

"It's okay," she said calmly, torn between going to him and staying seated. She knew when Vegeta was upset the best thing was to give him his space and not coddle him. However that was all she wanted to do; hold him and tell him this would all be over soon, just as soon as she figured a way out of here.

"It's not okay!" he insisted.

"Well, you might not have been able to prevent these things from happening, but are you glad it happened?"

"No,"

"If you could change it, would you?"

"Yes,"

"Then so long as you aren't proud of yourselves and craving to do it again, then that's a good thing in all of this," she said awkwardly, trying to find a silver lining in all this. "If you feel _bad_ for it, then that's a good thing."

"Yea, but Recoome and Jeyice said next time we might have to actually kill people," Tarble said. "Then what?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, feeling completely out of her element. This was not a discussion she ever thought she would be having with one of her children and again, she wished Vegeta was there. He would know what to say. He was raised a child soldier. He would have _hopefully_ gone through the same moral anguish when he'd started doing these things with his father; though he would have been younger than the boys currently were. She didn't know, she just _didn't know_!

"We'll get a beating if we don't!" Trunks said. "There's no way around it; so then what?"

"I don't know, sweetie, I truly don't," she answered. "I just wish your father was here to guide you through this because I have no idea, I'm sorry."

"As usual," Trunks snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with knitted eyebrows.

"What it means!" he huffed.

"Which is _what_?" she demanded.

"That's _all_ we ever hear!" he said bitterly. "Oh, your father _this_ and oh, your father _that_! But I don't even know the guy! He _lives_ in a regeneration tank! And we tell you the bad stuff that happened and all you can say is _I wish your father was here_?"

Bulma swallowed back an emotional rock threatening to take over her throat. She had no idea how to respond to that because he was right. He didn't know his father. "I'm sorry, Trunks and you too, Tarble. I'm not trying to be insensitive. I _don't_ know what to say about it. Truly, my heart hearts for you both so much right now. This isn't the life I wanted for either of you and if I could change all this, I would, in a heartbeat and so would your father.

"But I've never been faced with the type of situation you just went through and may very soon be faced with. I've never killed anyone or thought about it or _anything remotely_ close to what just happened. So I don't know what to say. Your father was raised in a very similar environment. When I say I wish he was here, I mean that in every literal sense of the word. I need to defer to him on this because I _don't know_!"

"It's okay, mom," Tarble said to her as she began to get emotional. He shot Trunks a dirty look.

"No, I'm sorry," she sniffed, trying to hold back an emotional floodgate. "Have you talked to Jeyice about all of this? Surely he must understand how you both feel." Though she knew them talking with Jeyice about the situation would probably be about as helpful as speaking to a wall. However, he was their age once. He had to remember his first mission and how traumatized he may have felt over ending lives.

"Yea, he says we should be _proud_ of ourselves." Trunks said. "He says that as long as the end justifies the means, and King Cold is happy, that's all that matters."

"He also said we are too soft." Tarble added quietly.

"You're _kids!_ " she exclaimed. "You're supposed to be soft! Where I came from, kids your age should be outside playing at the park and riding their bikes with their friends. At your age, the only thing I worried about was making sure I was home before it got dark. You are two perfectly normal boys being pushed into something that no child should have to do in their lifetime _ever!_ Don't let them make you feel like there is something wrong with you for having a conscience. As long as you have that, you're still good boys. Got it?"

"I think so," Trunks nodded, feeling a little bit better knowing that his mother wasn't angry with them.

"What's a bike?" Tarble asked with a frown.

"Just a primitive method of transportation that kids used to tool around on," she answered vaguely. "And some adults too. I'll show you one day when we get out of here. Now did you boys at least get to do _anything_ fun while you were gone without Jeyice?"

The boys lit up somewhat at the topic. They told her about how they went fishing and rock climbing. They told her about the planet and the humid, jungle like atmosphere and scenery and even told her a little bit about Fenton and his wife, Darby with whom they had stayed with.

"They sound like very nice people who didn't deserve that," she said as they began to get upset at the thought of everything and everyone being wiped out.

"They didn't," Tarble said. "I don't remember what happened, but in the house, someone shot at Jeyice and he just deflected it and she had come into the room because she probably heard Jeyice kill Geralt. When he deflected it, it hit her and killed her right then."

"He didn't even know she was there, so it was an accident," Trunks added. "But she fell like five feet in front of us, just a mess; and we froze. We didn't know what to do and then he told us to go meet up with Recoome and so we did, just like that. We didn't even check to see if she was alright, even though we knew she wasn't."

"She was such a nice lady," Tarble nodded. "You would have liked her."

"I'm sure I would have," she agreed solemnly as she listened to them talk. "Don't feel bad. There wasn't anything you boys could have done, from the sound of it and as for blindly following Jeyice and Recoome's orders without question, you were both probably in shock at seeing something so terrible. It's only natural for you to have wanted to get out of that house as quickly as possible. You also trusted Recoome. I have never met him, but I know you boys really like him. He told you guys it was a game and you believed him."

They both nodded.

"We should go," Trunks said suddenly, feeling uncomfortable talking about this. He just wanted to forget any of it ever happened.

"Alright," she sighed, standing up. She needed to finish getting ready anyway. "Thank you for coming to see me. I really missed you both."

"We missed you too," Tarble said as they both hugged her.

"Come see me tomorrow?"

"We will," Trunks nodded. "By the way, why do you look and smell so…"

"What?"

"I don't know," he paused awkwardly, gesturing his hands outward, unable to express himself.

"Oh, Jeyice wants me to come have dinner with him," she said, looking away from him. She didn't want to talk about that with them. "He asked me to make sure I looked nice."

"You do look _really_ nice," Tarble said brightly.

"Thank you," she smiled. She knew she would have to touch up her makeup quickly before she left because she had been crying off and on during their visit.

"He's nice to you, right?" Trunks asked.

"Sure he is," she replied with a frown. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Just wondering," he shrugged, walking towards the door. "Like he… never mind,"

Bulma felt alarm course and dread through her. They didn't _know_ , did they? She hoped to god they didn't know the specifics regarding her and Jeyice's _arrangement._ "What?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'll look forward to it," she nodded, brushing off his odd, sudden enquiry. Eventually they would find out, she supposed. She just hoped it was much later rather than sooner. "Good night, boys."

"Good night, mom."

Bulma shut the door and immediately felt mentally and emotionally drained. _I can't do this,_ she told herself. She just wished she could crawl into bed and cry until she fell asleep. Her two little boys were going through hell and she had no idea how to be of any comfort to them. How pathetic was that?

She reminded herself of her plan to sabotage Jeyice this evening and gain more information from his scouter to hopefully help her with the time machine. With that in mind, she took a moment to collect herself before heading back into her bedroom to change and fix her make up. The boys had mentioned that Jeyice had not wanted them to talk to her about their mission and she wasn't going to betray their confidence by letting him know they had told her everything; but she was going to find a roundabout way of telling him to be a little more understanding to them.

She groaned out loud in disgust at the realization that they were essentially co-parenting the boys, but decided to approach him with that thought in mind. Hopefully, since he had raised them mostly, he had some sensitivity and affection for them buried beneath his jackass exterior. She wasn't going to count on it, but she was going to try and work that angle.

Mama bear was angry.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the LONG wait...
> 
> First off… HUGE thank you to Dragonbabezee for her help in betaing this incredibly difficult chapter! Be sure to check out her work if you haven't already! You won't be disappointed!
> 
> Just a strong reminder that this story is rated M for mature and adult situations. If that bothers you, or you are under age, you have been warned! So my gift to you guys is posting these next three, very intense chapters at one time. I have put a lot of time, energy and stress into this.

_**Chapter 36** _

Bulma rushed to finish getting herself ready before Jeyice's arrival. She needed to fix her makeup and put on her edible body lotion with the sedative mixed in. She had been saving that for last so that it would not be worn off by the time she saw Jeyice.

She was still very much disturbed by the story the boys had told her and it annoyed her that she couldn't take it up with Jeyice. She had promised them that she would not say anything to him. She only hoped that she could give them proper guidance on moral issues so that they could do the best they could despite being in a horrible environment, being made to do things they wouldn't otherwise do. As it was, she felt it was a miracle they were as level headed as they were. It was a long shot that they would grow up to be good, decent young men; which was why despite hating to have to put herself out for Jeyice, she was still thankful she could be there for them and guide them. Offer them some source of comfort and a balanced way of thinking. She would be beside herself if they turned into monsters like Jeyice or Frieza even.

She began slathering herself with her scented, edible body cream she had made with the sedative, putting it everywhere from neck to toe and when she felt it had soaked into her skin, she applied some more. It _did_ smell good and it had tasted good before she'd put the sedative in it; she only hoped it had not ruined the flavor and that the sedative had not lost its potency. She _needed_ this to work if she was going to maintain her sanity over all of this.

Bulma touched up her makeup, making her eyes dark and her lips red, but keeping her hair simple and straight. Then she dressed herself and slipped another vial of sedative into her bra. If she had the opportunity to slip some into his drink as well, she was not going to wish she had been prepared. She also capsulated her scouter and a few other things like a comfortable pair of pants and a shirt to lounge in; assuming that he would make her spend the night. She put that inside her bra too.

As usual, he did not knock, he simply walked into her room as though he were entitled.

"Well don't you look nice," he said appreciatively, looking at her. "You aren't wearing the jewelry I got you?"

"It doesn't really go with this dress," she said quickly, noticing his disappointment. In all honesty, she had forgotten about it. "Besides, I thought I should save it for a special occasion, don't you?"

"I suppose," he shrugged. "Let's go, I've got dinner all ready,"

" _You_ made dinner?" she asked in shock.

"No," he snorted. "Who do you think I am?"

"Right," she sighed and followed him out of her room.

Bulma ignored him as he chattered on to her as they walked down the hall towards where he lived; this was the first time she had been allowed outside the lab since Vegeta's trial and she was trying to take note of every corner, landmark and hallway in hopes of remembering it for future reference. The layout reminded her of Frieza's ship in that the colors were a bland grey color and there wasn't much for decor except for the odd plant here and there. Any signs on the walls were written in a language that she did not understand so they were of no help to her.

When they arrived, he let her into his place first and she was immediately surprised at how _different_ it was from the halls and corridors. The walls were a dark grey, the floor was a thick royal purple carpet and all the furniture was black. _Rather dramatic,_ she thought to herself, barely supressing an eye roll.

"What do you think?" he asked eagerly. "Nice, hey?"

"It's very nice," she nodded. The decorating may not have been to her taste, she thought as she noticed several nude female sculptures on the end tables, but it was a thousand times nicer than her dingy little place at the lab. "It's big,"

"Yea," he said, looking around proudly. "Well, all of King Cold's officers get a luxury suite. If you think this is nice, you should see King Cold's place!"

"I can imagine," she nodded in agreement, noticing the amazing spread of food on the counter top and immediately realized how ravenous she was.

"Want some dinner?" he asked eagerly, leading her into the kitchen. "I don't know what you like, so I got some of my favorites. I have wine too, would you like some?"

"Sure," she said, feeling awkward and very uncomfortable with the apparent great effort that he had obviously put in for the evening. She grabbed a plate anyway though, and loaded it up. She hadn't had a decent meal since Vegeta-sei and wasn't about to pass on it simply because she hated her host.

Jeyice handed her a glass of wine before loading his own plate and coming to the table.

"So, I have something for you and I wanted to talk to you," he started once they were both seated and digging into their meal. "I think it would help you with your project that you were working on for King Cold and making things disappear,"

"Alright," she nodded, trying to follow his line of conversation. Honestly, she was so hungry, she couldn't think of anything but eating as much as possible while she had the opportunity. She wasn't sure what most of the dishes were, but she didn't care. They were _all_ delicious. "What did you find?" Truthfully, Cold hadn't asked her about the progress on that in a while, not since she had painted the androids with lead stealth paint. It was perfect and he had approved all of his ships to be covered in it as well, as it made them untraceable on any radar frequency. She'd assumed that he was happy enough with that solution as he'd not said a word about it since then.

"I found something called a perception filter while I was out and about on my last mission," he said, hoping that she would be happy with this offering since her reaction to the jewellery had been less than stellar. "You wear it, or place it on or inside an object, and so long as anyone else around you is unaware of its existence, they will not see you. However, if they know you are there, the effect is gone."

"Oh, my god," she gasped as he slid the box across the table towards her and she was moved nearly to tears at the possibilities that had just opened up to her. _This was it!_ The very _key_ to their eventual freedom! In just a short time they would be out of this place _if_ this was as effective as he claimed it was.

"She also said it does not work on radars, surveillance cameras and some animals," he said, trying to remember everything the woman had told him. "So it's still limited, but I thought it could still help you with your assignment."

"Thank you," she whispered, trying to contain her emotion at the possibility that there was a possible end to all of this if she planned it properly.

"Don't mention it," Jeyice smiled. "It was only a hop, skip an' a bit of a small jump from where I was stationed. I thought of you and yea, there it is. Hope it helps you with your project."

"It will," she nodded, looking at it and playing with it carefully in her hand. "This is amazing, you have no idea."

"Oh, I think I do," he said proudly. "Anything to help. Like I said before, don't want you getting on the bad side of King Cold now."

"No," she agreed, still examining the stone and wondering if it could be cut. Her mind began to race with all the possibilities. She needed to get back to the lab and test out the efficiency. "No, he will be happy about it, for sure. Does he know about this?"

"No," he shook his head. "I figured it should be best if you went to him with it since it's your project."

"Right," she agreed. If Cold didn't know about this, then that was good. Maybe she didn't even have to tell him about it and she could sneak out of here soon. "I need to get back to the lab."

"Tomorrow," he chuckled.

She held back a sigh of frustration. Even if she had wanted to spend the night with him, she would have still been anxious to leave and see what she could get done with this. It wasn't very big, but could she split it up into tiny pieces? "I can't wait to get to the lab and start testing this."

"Well, I'll take you after breakfast tomorrow morning," he said, nodding.

"I need to start running tests as soon as possible, see if I can duplicate this so that everyone can have one-"

"I can get more," he said. "The lady had quite a few. They aren't cheap, let me tell you that, but I can get more."

"Well, I might need more," she said to him with a nod, going back to her meal. "So, how did the mission with the boys go?" she asked, deciding to ponder the possibilities later on. "They wouldn't say much about it. Did something bad happen?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "They're fine. Maybe a bit shook up. It was their first mission, people died, so what? They need to get used to it. Next time, depending on the mission, they might have to be in the thick of it."

"And what if they aren't ready to kill anyone?"

"They will be. Or they're gonna have to be," he shrugged easily, not even looking up from his dinner. "First few missions are always the toughest, but they'll be fine. As it is, they did fairly well this time. They took out a ton of escape ships without blinking an eye."

 _Because they were told it was a game!_ She wanted to shout at him, but remembered she couldn't. She wasn't supposed to know that. "Well, how did you feel when you did your first few missions? Didn't you feel bad about it?"

"No," he snorted. "My first mission I was on the front lines, killing people face to face, not blowing up ships. They got an _easy_ job for their first; it could have been a _lot_ worse."

Bulma sighed. Obviously he had no empathy on the matter, which didn't surprise her in the least. "That may be, but-"

"Would you get me some more wine, love?" he asked, shutting the subject down and waving his empty glass at her with an obnoxious grin.

She looked at him a moment, nearly telling him to get it himself and press the issue about the boys, but then thought better of it. Now may be her only chance to slip the sedative into his wine unnoticed and hopefully get a head start on getting it to work on him _before_ things progressed to his bedroom.

Bulma got up, took his glass with her to the counter and then checked to see if he was watching her, which thankfully he wasn't. Quickly, she removed the vial and her capsule out from her bra and poured several drops of her sedative into his glass, poured wine into his glass and then dumped the remainder of the sedative into the wine bottle. Between the drug in his drink, the bottle and the flavored body lotion she had slathered all over herself, there was _no_ _way_ he would be able to stay awake long enough for her to have to endure putting out for him tonight; of that she was sure. She then hid the vial behind some canisters on the counter top and left her capsule with her scouter and overnight things on the counter where she could easily access it later on and it wouldn't fall out of her bra later. If he asked, she'd tell him it was just her personal things.

She put the bottle on the table before handing him his glass of wine. "Thanks, love," he said, taking a sip and looking at her long and hard. "I have dessert you know, but I have a sudden craving for something else first."

"Is that so?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to put him off a little longer to let the sedative start working.

"I've been wondering what you're wearing under that dress since I saw you," he chuckled. "That dress is so tight, it doesn't leave much to the imagination. Are you wearing _anything_ underneath it?"

"You'll have to wait and see," she answered elusively in an alluring tone. "I'd like to have some dessert and more wine before showcasing the big reveal."

"Cheers to that," Jeyice nodded, downing the entire contents of his wine glass and reaching for the bottle to refill it. "I need to talk to you. Finish your meal and listen to what I want to say; I have given it a lot of thought, and then we can have some fun."

She bit back an exasperated groan despite herself, but sat back down to humour him; she already had a feeling about what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Thank you," he said as he waited for her to resume eating. "So, I think I understand now,"

"What do you understand?" she asked, pausing from her meal.

"Remember when you told me that you and Vegeta had a meaningful relationship that extended far beyond sex and I made fun of you?" he asked. "An' you said if I ever had a wife I would not want anyone to have her or touch her?"

"Yes," she nodded once. She remembered that conversation.

"I understand that now," he confessed. "That need to cherish another."

She blinked several times and looked at him, dumbfounded. She didn't dare hope that he would put a stop to this _arrangement_ they had, did she? "You understand why this thing we have going on here is so wrong on so many levels?"

"Yea," he nodded once, looking very pleased with himself. He was certain he was saying all the right things. "I mean I _enjoy_ our time together immensely, I don't want to quit that, but-"

"Then you _don't_ get it, Jeyice," she cut him off harshly, placing her attention back to the meal on her plate, wanting to finish it as quickly as possible so she could move on to dessert and maybe he'd fall asleep before anything happened. "If you truly _got_ it, then you'd understand why that part of our time together needs to come to an end."

"Well," he paused. "I was really hoping you would want to move in here after seeing the place. Then it wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

"Jeyice, my place is in the lab," she sighed.

"I thought you said you were going to think about it?"

"I did, and the answer is no," she replied firmly.

"Fine," he sighed, though she could tell he was angry. "I'll give you more time."

"Jeyice, I don't _need_ more time," she insisted. "I'm a scientist, _not_ a housewife. I wasn't when I was with Vegeta, and I'm sure not going to be with you. If you really cared that much about me, as you claim, you'd let me go and do my own thing."

He didn't say anything for a while and she hoped he was considering her side of the issue. When would he finally get it that she had no interest in him and never would? He was simply a means to an end. He let her see and get to know the boys and he had provided her with useful tools to potentially help her plan an escape from this place. In some ways, she was using him more than he was using her.

"You know, you can stay here if you'd like when I'm gone on missions, or would you object to that as well?" he pushed.

Oh, what she wouldn't give to be able to stay there, comfortable and unbothered while he was gone for a few weeks or however long. It was _exactly_ what she needed. She could work on her time machine without disruption or fear of discovery and possibly learn the layout of the base on her own, however she shook her head at him. Accepting that invitation was like another step in accepting him.

If she agreed to stay there while he was gone and insisted on leaving when he returned, she knew she'd have no valid argument. She may as well stay in the lab.

"No," she said. "I'd better stay there. Thank you for the offer though. And thanks for this," she said, holding up the box with the perception filter.

"Whatever," he snorted sourly. "Dessert is in the fridge, if you want it,"

Bulma got up to take a look and took a cold ice-cream-cake-looking dessert out. She put it on the counter and noticed that he got up to leave the table and slumped onto the couch with a heavy, dejected sigh in the living room area. She rolled her eyes at his petulant behavior.

She watched him take his scouter and begin to scroll through the messages on it. Bulma placed the cake on the table.

"Looks like I'm leaving tomorrow on another mission," he commented in a grouchy tone and she wasn't sure if it was because he _just_ came back and had to leave again or if it was because he was still mad at her. One thing she knew for certain was that she _needed_ to get to his scouter before he left for however long again. It never once occurred to her that she would ever not want to throw a party at his leaving for a mission. _How ironic._

Bulma slipped her dress off. She needed to go back to her original plan and that now required catching his interest again and being nice to him so that he would drink more. She was confident that if he kept up at the pace he currently was, he _should_ pass out soon; besides that, now she had annoyed him. She needed to get his attention again so that she could get the information she needed on his scouter. If he stormed out now to prepare for his mission instead of staying here, she wouldn't get that and who knew how long it would be again before she had the opportunity; he never went anywhere without it.

She brought the cake to the table and went to stand next to him in his living room, looking at him expectantly, noting the sour look still on his face from her rejection. _What a fucking child!_

"Hmm, I like this," he said appreciatively standing up, disappointment immmediately forgotten, running his finger across the lace top of her bra, lightly touching the swell of her breasts. "This is even nicer than I imagined it would be,"

"Good," she smiled, holding back a shudder of disgust. "I chose it just for you."

"You did, did you?" he asked in amusement, taking a step back and looking at her. "This is nice," he said, gesturing to her outfit and holding up his glass of wine before taking another sip. "You know, I _knew_ you'd eventually come around; and I _know_ you have, despite the way you like to tease me and put me off like you do," he said reaching for her and pulling her towards him.

"Oh yea?" she asked, letting him pull her into him and refrained from pushing him away as he buried his face in her cleavage and wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her there.

"Oh, yes," he muttered, as he leaned in to kiss her. "It's like a fun, nasty little _game_ to you, isn't it? You like being pursued."

She opened her mouth to object, but couldn't because he'd taken advantage and shoved his tongue in her mouth so she kissed him back with as much enthusiasm as she could drum up. He seemed pleased with her effort and kissed her back hungrily, demandingly.

Jeyice's lips moved on to the side of her face, up her jawline and down to her neck, inhaling deeply as he did so. "My _god_ you smell good," he whispered huskily from excitement into her neck.

"Hmmm, you think I smell good, wait till you _taste_ me," she replied coyly.

Jeyice looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "My, aren't you just full of surprises tonight."

"That I am," she nodded with a smile. _You have no idea…_ she added mentally.

"Hmm, I like surprises," he chuckled, downing the rest of his wine like a shot and putting his glass down beside her. He placed both his hands on her sides and pressed her breasts together, making them look like they were about to burst out of the flimsy bra before burying his face between them again and he licked the skin between them. "Mmmm, you _do_ taste simply decadent, love."

He moved his hand behind her, undoing her bra and letting it fall to the floor between them. In an instant, his mouth latched onto her right breast, sucking on the nipple aggressively, almost painfully. She winced and held back a cry of objection and masked it as a moan of pleasure.

He took that as a sign of encouragement and sucked harder on it before biting down hard on her breast, drawing blood around the areola.

She yelped this time, not even trying to hide her discomfort and smacked him on the top of his head. "Hey!"

"Sorry," he said, lightly licking the open wound; it was fairly deep and was bleeding. "Guess I got a little carried away. Though I thought you wouldn't mind seeing as you let Vegeta mark you," he said snidely, his mouth moving to the other breast and being a tad gentler with it.

Bulma didn't reply, just threw her head back and threaded her fingers through his long white hair and stared at the ceiling, hoping that any moment from now he would pass out.

Getting frustrated that he didn't seem to be affected yet, Bulma pushed him away and reached for the bottle of wine and refilled his glass and handed it back to him; he had already removed his shirt and pants and was clad only in his underwear. She really needed him to finally pass out if for no other reason than she did not feel like acting anymore. It was a lot easier said than done to kiss him and touch him and pretend like she wanted him. She hated herself more and more each day as this arrangement went on.

She brought her own glass to her lips, taking a small sip so he would hopefully not be suspicious that she was up to something, but she did not want to over indulge either; as soon as he was passed out, she had work to do.

Jeyice beckoned for her to come with him; she hesitated a moment before going to him, not sure how to stall and put him off for much longer. He took her hand and led her down the hall and into his bedroom. It was immaculate and over the top, and for a moment, the thought of sinking into the huge, luxurious bed and sleeping all night became more of a priority to her than anything. She hadn't had a decent nights rest in a comfortable bed since she'd left Vegeta-sei. _No,_ she needed to download that data from Jeyice's scouter onto hers first before she did _anything._

Bulma offered him a small smile as she waltzed up to him, and put her hand on his chest and pushed him back until they reached his bed. He sat down, giving her an amused look as he took another healthy sip of his wine.

"You are nothing short of exquisite," he said to her as he looked at her up and down thoroughly. "Really, you are just splendid, love, you know that? Come here." He beckoned to her.

Bulma swallowed down a lump of emotion and quickly pulled herself together before going to him. There were moments when she missed Vegeta so much that it nearly overwhelmed her and then the guilt over what she was doing would set in again; fresh and painful and she would become convinced that once she made it out of here, not only would she never be the same again, but would Vegeta even want her again after this? She felt nothing for Jeyice, but she was giving herself to him and she knew Vegeta's thoughts about their union. It was sacred. Her body was for him alone, just like his was for her only. He had given himself to no one else but her, just like she had not been with anyone before him.

The passion and physical intimacy they shared between them had been theirs alone with no one else to compare to, and it was always the one thing that they were equals in and they had both taken great joy in that. It was something so beautiful that they both had learned how to love and pleasure each other wholly and completely without reservation and without restraint.

Vegeta may not have always been diligent about expressing his affections for her verbally or telling her how attractive she was, but he had loved her so wildly and had practically worshipped her body in such a reverent manner that words of declaration were insufficient by comparison, and not needed. Yet she had badgered him for him to say these things in her stupidity and insecurity.

Now here she was, letting Jeyice use her, and while to his credit he usually didn't cause her physical pain, but he always commented on how beautiful he found her. Bulma remembered how many times she had wished for Vegeta to say these things and now that she had someone doing just that, all she wanted was Vegeta. Vegeta and his silent worship spoke, no _screamed,_ decibels louder than anything anyone else could ever say to her.

If she could go back, she would slap herself silly.

Bulma shook herself out of the shame spiral she was falling through and forced herself to straddle Jeyice's lap before he noticed her hesitation.

Of course, his mouth went straight to her beasts again and he began licking and tasting her. She screwed up her face as he licked her from her left breast all the way up her chest and neck, ending just below her ear in one, long lap.

"Hmmm, what exactly is it you are wearing?" he asked and she heard the slight slur in his voice this time. "You smell and taste good enough to eat."

"It's a secret," she said looking at him and felt a small victory from within. He would pass right out, any second now. She pushed him down onto his back and kissed him up along his jaw and down his neck as she slowly fondled his manhood.

Within a few short moments, he was out like a light.

She shook him a few times to make sure, and once she was satisfied that he was passed out for good, she got off of him and debated whether or not to leave him like that or move him just a little bit. She decided to move him. In the event that if he did wake up before she was back, he would assume he had just fallen asleep afterwards.

Bulma removed his underwear and dropped them on the floor beside the bed. Then she managed with some difficulty to roll him on his stomach and bring his legs up and onto the bed. He didn't so much as stir.

She then lifted his head and put it on the pillow, partially covered him with the comforter and nodded at her handiwork. Jeyice looked as though he were sleeping peacefully on his stomach. Content with that, she left his room and got herself dressed from the things in her overnight bag she'd brought in her capsule. She also capsulized the empty vial of sedative. With that all taken care of, she went to find his scouter.

-0-0-0-

It had only taken Bulma about an hour to do what she'd needed to do on Jeyice's scouter while she enjoyed the decadent ice-cream cake he'd gotten. It had been tricky to figure out how to change the text into English, but once she'd done that, it had been easy. Within a few minutes, she had found Vegeta-sei in the archives. Of course, his scouter had been updated several times since its destruction, but she had still managed to find it and was able to get where its exact location had been and even the date it had been destroyed. She'd had no way of keeping track of time since she had been here and it shocked her that she had been here just a little over four years. It felt like longer. She hoped that this would be what she needed to be able to travel back.

She had also discovered the floor plan of Cold's base and uploaded that as well to her own scouter. If she was going to make an escape, she needed to know her way around somewhat. She copied and transferred everything she could find, not knowing what could be potentially useful to her or not down the road and it shocked her how easily she had been able to do it. There were no passwords or security measures for her to bypass. Everything was available.

Putting it back to its previous language settings, she went back to check on Jeyice. He was still fast asleep and she assumed that it would still be hours before he woke up, so she decided to treat herself while she was in his home. It wasn't like she could leave; the door was locked and she did not know the code. As well, she did not want him to become suspicious that he had been drugged if she was suddenly gone when he awoke.

She began running a hot bath in the deep tub with jets and opened up a bottle of wine for herself but then dumped it; she was a little paranoid of the effects the sedative might have on Jeyice, so she rummaged through his kitchen, dumped out three more bottles of wine down the sink and left one on the counter, one on the coffee table and one at the dining table next to the contaminated bottle. She also found some other type of hard liquor in his cabinet that smelled like gasoline and lighter fluid and the mere scent of it was enough to make her feel drunk and made her stomach turn. _Was that bourbon?_ She wondered as she dumped some of it down the drain. She then filled two shot glasses before promptly dumping them as well, and left the glasses and the bottle on the coffee table with the empty bottle of wine. Hopefully, she could convince him that they had both gotten _very_ drunk and had passed out after some fun in the bedroom.

Bulma checked on Jeyice again briefly, before heading to the bathroom. He has snoring lightly and she was satisfied with herself. If she could manage to trick him and sedate him on a regular basis, that would make the world of difference to her.

She quickly went back to the kitchen to grab herself a bottle of wine and as she was setting the wine opener aside, the thought of killing him with it crossed her mind. _It would be soo easy_ , she told herself. She stood there a moment, looking at the sharp end of the corkscrew and wondering how many jabs in the throat it would take for her to indeed kill him. He _was_ drugged. Would he even wake up if she stabbed him?

She wandered back into his bedroom and looked at him, fast asleep without a care in the world. She supposed she could get another knife from his kitchen and do it, it would be more efficient that way. Quick and easy. If he was drugged, he'd have no idea what happened.

Her mind began to conjure up all sorts of gruesome scenarios as she contemplated it. What if he woke up? She was convinced he'd turn around and gut her. Then what? Even if she did succeed, what would she do? She couldn't exactly _hide_ the body or make it look like an accident if she was confined to his room like she was. What would Cold do to her for killing one of his men? How would it affect the boys? Would they miss him or would they be glad for it?

The more she thought on it, the more she lost her nerve and she walked away from him, putting the wine opener back on the counter and eating a few more forkfuls of the decadent ice cream cake before taking the bottle with her into the bathroom. _Maybe one day I'll do it, but not today,_ she thought in dismay as she removed her clothes and stepped into the tub. She'd never killed anyone, and the thought that she'd so casually considered ending a life just now bothered her immensely. Never had she had such violent thoughts about a person. Jeyice may be a terrible excuse for a living being, but he was still a _living_ , breathing person. No matter how justifiable, she just wasn't sure if she could ever bring herself to do such a thing. _If only I were a little more like Vegeta,_ she thought to herself in dismay.

She shut the water off, turned the jets on and relaxed, clearing her terrible thoughts; it would be a shame to ruin a rare luxury of a good bath. Back home, one of her favorite past times had been a bath and a good book for her evening ritual. On Vegeta-sei, she loved soaking in the massive tub in Vegeta's room. It had been difficult to get in a good soak frequently because of Trunks, but when she did, it was always a welcomed reprieve. Especially when Vegeta joined her.

Her mind wandered back to the perception filter Jeyice had gotten her, and she wondered if he could get another one for her. If it worked as well as he claimed, then she would want one for herself, Trunks, Tarble, Vegeta and Dende. She'd also need one for her time machine and find a way to put one on the ship she still had on her; she would need the boys to do that. _Then what?_ She asked herself. She still had no idea how to get Vegeta out of the regeneration tank without killing him. Should she chance it and take the tank with her; take it to another planet where they could unlock it for her? She assumed it had a backup generator in case the power failed so it may work on the short term if she unplugged it. But would she be able to plug it in somewhere on her ship? She didn't know.

She soaked for about an hour or so before getting out. She changed into a t-shirt and panties she had brought with her, before crawling into Jeyice's bed as far from him as possible and as carefully as she could manage, not wanting to risk waking him up and him being interested in picking up where they left off.

It didn't take her long to fall asleep, as it was the most comfortable bed she'd had to sleep in in a long time!

-0-0-0-

The next morning, Jeyice woke up before Bulma; he felt somewhat dizzy and had a bit of a crick in his neck. He lifted himself up on his elbows and noticed Bulma asleep in bed beside him, curled up in the fetal position with her back to him. He didn't remember their exploits from the previous night, but they must have been pretty amazing if he'd passed out and had slept through the night with her.

Jeyice reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and brought her close to him, so that they were spooning. She didn't stir, she was fast asleep. She was only wearing panties and a tight t shirt and he wondered why she had put them on. No matter, he thought, sliding one hand up her shirt to knead her breast. He could get used to this, he thought to himself. She was amazing. Definitely the best he'd ever had; especially now that she had fully accepted their agreement.

What he wouldn't give to come to his quarters to her waiting for him every night and it still baffled him that she hadn't jumped at the opportunity. She could keep it straightened up and looking nice and he would continue to reward her by letting her see her boys even more than she currently was. It was the perfect solution for everyone; in his mind.

The thought of her greeting him daily in his own quarters clad in nothing more than revealing lingerie made him hard and he wanted her again. He supposed he had some time before he needed to be at the training center to do his briefing and prepare for departure and if he was a little late, so what? He was a general now. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted.

He knew he had definitely played his cards right last night and that she would be only too happy to change her mind on her living arrangements, he decided he would formally ask her again over breakfast if she would consider moving in with him. How could she refuse him after this? He had a nice place and he had given her something to help her with her project. What more did she want from him?

-0-0-0-

Bulma moaned blissfully as Vegeta stroked her slowly, just the way she liked it. Oh it had been so long since they had been together; she missed him like crazy. She loved it when he woke her up this way; be it in the middle of the night, or early in the morning.

She knew that this was just a dream but she didn't want to awake from it so she fought to remain in the hazy fog of sleep because when she woke up, she would be alone again.

He began to rub her a little more persistently from behind as her need intensified, dipping one finger inside of her a couple of times, then two. Oh, how she missed Vegeta's gentle touch and teasing ways; only _he_ knew how to drive her absolutely crazy. She arched her pelvis against him into his groin, giving him access to pleasure her better.

She moaned in pleasure as his fingers were replaced by just the tip of his member, pushing into her slowly as his fingers went back to stroking her clit softly.

He slowly penetrated her warm center shallowly, pulling out and then pushing into her again a little deeper with each gentle thrust.

"Oh," she sighed out loud in contentment as the pressure in her center began to build up towards something good that she had not had in _years_ ; not since the last time she and Vegeta had been intimate anyway. She hoped that she wouldn't wake up before it happened.

One of his hands began to massage her breast as the other played with her clit, circling it gently with his fingers. He quickened his pace somewhat, moving deeper into her as she sighed and moaned in her pleasure.

"Vegeta," she moaned as he began to move faster and she felt her release nearing. She wanted it so bad...

"What did you say, love?" An accented voice asked from behind her as he stopped his thrusting and she was jarred out of her dream like state in an instant as realization hit her. What the fuck was she doing?

She was on her side, with Jeyice doing a whole lot more than just spooning her she realized then, gasping in alarm and mortification at her mistake. Before she could say anything in her defense to confirm or deny it, his hand that had been on her breast moved up to her neck and tightened around her throat.

"How _dare_ you think of _him_ or even say _his_ name while with _me_!" he snarled viciously at her as he began moving into her again, though it was hard and fast this time, completely void of the gentle way he had been with her just moments ago.

He moved his body against hers so that she was now on her stomach and he began to use her harder than he ever had up until this point.

"You will _never_ have him again!" he hissed maliciously into her ear as his hand tightened threateningly around her neck again to the point at which she could not inhale. "You belong to me now. You will not think of him while you are with me, do you understand?"

She moaned something unintelligible as panic and dread coursed through her as her breathing was restricted. He rammed himself into her harder than ever before. His hand that had been pleasuring her clit was still there and the friction of his hard strokes still rubbed her against his hand, stimulating her, causing her to cry out in both a combination of pain and pleasure of which she had not ever experienced before.

Despite the horrific treatment, she ground her hips against his hand. Before she had woken up, she had been so close to climax. _Fuck it_ , she thought to herself in resentment as he continued on with his brutal treatment. She hadn't had one single ounce of fulfillment since they had started this dysfunctional agreement.

"I see," he grunted into her ear as he noticed her attempt to move against his hand. "You like it like this, do you?"

She did not reply, his hand was still dangerously tight around her neck that she was beginning to feel lightheaded. Instead, she rocked her hips against his, trying to rub herself against his hand that was still between her legs.

Finally she erupted, screaming out as a very powerful climax pulsated through her. "Fuck me!" she exclaimed in the heat of the moment as it took her completely by surprise despite the shame that she could possibly have gotten any pleasure from this or from him.

"Very much obliged," Jeyice grunted in her ear, mistaking her words as meant for him and began to slam himself even rougher into her.

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut as she rode out the waves of her release that were still wracking her body as Jeyice continued. She was ready to pass out from lack of oxygen.

He came just as she was coming down from her high and he collapsed on top of her in exhaustion.

She shook in the aftermath of her orgasm, her mind not right just yet or fully comprehending what had just happened.

Jeyice removed his hand from around her neck and threaded his fingers through her hair on the back of her head, roughly pulling her head back so she could look at him. "I enjoyed this very much, love but utter his name in my presence ever again and I will kill you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispered between heavy coughs now that she could breathe again. She just wished he would leave already so she could be alone, get dressed and be alone in her misery. He snorted as he dressed and left abruptly without further word to her.

She didn't move for several minutes. Her mind hadn't caught up with what had happened yet. She was numb. Too numb to cry or scream or do anything other than lay there and cough violently.

 _ **Stupid,**_ she told herself. _**Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the fuck am I even doing?**_

She finally pulled herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom to clean herself up. She examined her neck in the mirror and winced; her neck was sore to the touch and it hurt to swallow. She knew within a very short time her neck would be badly bruised and cursed Jeyice.

Bulma got herself dressed and quickly left his room, her stomach was in knots at the thought of seeing him or even having to speak to him. She took a deep breath as she looked around the living room and kitchen, but he wasn't there.

The place was a mess, just as she'd left it last night. It looked like they'd had quite a good time so she hoped he just assumed that they'd both just drunkenly passed out last night.

"I was told to escort you back to the lab." A monotone voice said to her from the door, startling her.

"You scared me," she said, her voice rough-sounding, even to her. "I didn't see you there."

It nodded at her once, not saying anything. Not wanting to spend another moment in this place, she quickly collected all of her things and went to it so it could silently escort her back to the lab. She would have liked to take advantage of the silence to take note of the layout of the base again, but her mind was far too distracted, replaying the incident of the morning in her mind over and over again. At least she'd had the foresight to put the floor plan of the base from Jeyice's scouter onto hers.

They finally made it to the lab and It followed her in.

Bulma didn't even think twice before bolting to her own room and racing to the bathroom to turn the water on in the shower to as hot as it could possibly go.

She had calmed down somewhat on her walk back to her room and she found herself wishing that Jeyice had killed her during their altercation. Would that have been so bad, she wondered? Sure it would be sad leaving the boys that way but who was she fooling; they weren't getting out of here.

As she fell through a spiral of self-pity something began to override her sadness until all she felt was anger. Anger and resentment that she had let this go on for this long. Leaving her bathroom she ran into her small kitchen, finding a blunt, nearly useless pair of scissors and went back to the washroom.

Without further thought or deliberation, she pulled forward a hand full section of her hair and began angrily cutting it as short as possible, leaving about two inches worth of growth. Satisfied with the length, she did the same, sectioning and hacking it with the dull scissors, not caring if the cut was even or not. All she cared about was getting rid of her beautiful, long hair.

Maybe if she looked like a boy, Jeyice wouldn't want her and maybe he would leave her alone for good.

She knew the chances of that happening were slim to none, but she needed to do something. She had allowed this way of living to happen for far too long. Instead of focusing on a way out, she had wasted her time working on the time machine in an attempt to fix things she probably couldn't anyway.

 _Fix things,_ she scoffed bitterly to herself. Dende was right. She could go back and fix things but that wouldn't change her current predicament. She needed to get out of here before she went mad. She needed to quit dwelling on the things of the past and start actively working on a plan to change their future.

"Time machine," she scoffed bitterly out loud. "What a stupid idea!" she berated herself as she finally stepped in the shower, scrubbing herself down madly before she began to shake again. The shock of what had just happened hitting her hard again. He had nearly killed her.

She had won last night. She had managed to get out of him violating her and it had backfired on her this morning; it had backfired _big time_.

She wasn't sure what bothered her more, that things had gone badly the way they had or that she had apparently _enjoyed_ it. She'd reached completion; and not only that, but it was one of the strongest climaxes she had ever experienced in her life. _What the fuck does that mean!?_ She panicked inwardly as she began to sob bitterly. She didn't _like_ being treated that way, nor did she _want_ to be treated that way. Was she becoming a masochist since all of this started, she wondered.

More importantly, _if_ she got out of here and she and Vegeta found a way to work things out if he still wanted her after this, would she ever be able to have a normal sex life again, or would she only find fulfillment if it was something degrading now? Vegeta would never treat her this way, even if she asked him to. He'd think she'd lost her mind. Even on occasion when he was a little rougher with her, never did he cause her discomfort, make her feel unsafe or degraded.

Forget Vegeta possibly not wanting her ever again after this, she was pretty sure she wouldn't want him at all either. All she could feel now was her neck still burning and her muscles beginning to ache. "I should have killed him last night," she said to herself out loud. Why hadn't she? It would have been _so easy!_ This would not have happened if she would have not been such a soft heart. _Next time,_ she told herself confidently. _And I will destroy him in such a way that before he's gone, he will understand why storms are named after people._

-0-0-0-


	37. Chapter 37

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

_**Butterflies & Hurricanes ** _

Once again- THANK YOU Dragonbabezee for betaing! :D

_**Chapter 37** _

Trunks and Tarble had just finished their early morning training session and were standing in line in the lunch hall, waiting for their breakfast.

"We should go bring mom something and eat with her," Tarble suggested.

"Ya, she would really like that I think," Trunks agreed. "We don't need to meet with Jeyice until later anyway. I have a feeling he wants us to train in the chamber again."

"Ugh, I _hate_ that place," Tarble groaned.

"I know, I do too. But you're doing really good lately. If we both train really hard in there for 2 days, you could be the same as I am. Easily! Then we could both progress, maybe."

"Ya," Tarble shrugged. He hated training and he didn't believe he would ever become as strong as Trunks. He only worked as hard as he did so that neither of them would get into trouble. He preferred piloting ships and flying to fighting any time.

They piled up as much food as they could carry and headed towards the lab, leaving as they noticed Jeyice entering the lunch hall on the other side. They quickened their pace so he would not notice them and send them to go do something or tell them they needed to show up earlier than what they were supposed to. He hadn't been all that pleasant to be around since getting back from their mission.

They knocked on Bulma's door when they got there, but she didn't answer. They knew she was there because her energy signature was there.

"Maybe she's still sleeping," Tarble suggested.

"Let's surprise her then," Trunks smirked and they opened her door carefully, not wanting to disturb her until they set everything down.

They walked in carefully, quietly closing the door behind them, and heard the shower running.

Confident that she wouldn't hear them, they went to her kitchen to grab some plates and began setting everything up on her coffee table for breakfast.

-0-0-0-

Bulma still sat huddled in the shower, shaking. She could not get what had just happened out of her head. Shame and disgust and feelings of hopelessness and self doubt mixed with a desperation that the perception filter be her way out of here somehow - they muddled in her mind in an aimless, depressing mess.

She didn't want to leave the warmth and comfort of the small space of her shower. No, it wasn't luxurious by any means, but she'd spent a lot of time in there, letting the hot water beat out her negative thoughts and sooth her into a calm state. It had become her safe place.

Bulma froze as she thought she heard something outside the washroom. _Oh god,_ she thought in panic. He wasn't here, was he? She couldn't bear to see him, or anyone right now for that matter. She just wanted to be left alone.

She quickly finished washing herself and shut off the water. She had heard a few noises and was convinced someone was definitely there, she wasn't simply being paranoid. She towel dried herself off quickly, frowning in the mirror at herself and then at her hair that was all over the floor and in the sink. Now that at least a half hour or so had passed, she couldn't believe she had actually gone and done that. _Oh well,_ she shrugged. She _hoped_ it looked terrible.

She changed into her normal loose pants and top and grabbed the scissors that were still on the counter top before opening the door slowly, hoping to god it wasn't Jeyice. She could not deal with him right now. If he came near her, she _would_ stab him.

"Hey mom!" Trunks said cheerfully as he heard the door opening and only saw her peek cautiously through the small bit she'd opened in order to see who it was that was there.

"Trunks," she said in relief that it wasn't Jeyice, but alarm that it was the boys because she could not deal with them at this moment either, not now. "You guys shouldn't be here right now,"

"Are you alright?" Tarble asked with a frown. She was usually overjoyed to see them. She sounded terrible, like she'd been crying or had a cold and she was hiding behind the door.

"I'm fine," she said, opening the door just a little more. "I'm just not feeling well today. I don't want you boys to get sick."

"We brought you breakfast," Tarble said with a slight frown. Something was off about her. "Maybe you'll feel better after you eat something?"

"Thank you for being so thoughtful, just leave it and I'll have some in a little while," she said.

Trunks frowned at her; she was acting very strangely and he noticed she was shaking. "Are you sure you're alright? You sound terrible."

"Yes!" she insisted, though her voice cracked in emotion. She was not alright and she was tired of pretending that she was alright.

"What's wrong?" they asked, coming closer to the door.

"Whoa, what happened to your hair?" Tarble asked.

"Nothing," she insisted, trying to keep an even tone. "It just gets in my way all the time and I was tired of it and..." she tried to explain but slid to the floor as she began to cry. She was broken. This last encounter with Jeyice had been her snapping point and she couldn't keep herself together long enough to give them any kind of reasonable explanation like she always did and pretend everything was fine, despite her best efforts and will to shelter them from it.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked as they both knelt on the floor next to her. A wave of fear and concern for her washed through him as he noticed the remnants of her hair on the bathroom floor and that she was clasping a pair of scissors as if to stab someone if need be. "What happened?"

"Just go," she said hoarsely to them. "I'm having a bad day, come back and see me tomorrow. I'll be fine. Thank you for coming."

Tarble sat there, looking wide-eyed as he noticed the bruising on her neck. "Who did that?"

"Did Jeyice do that?" Trunks asked firmly, putting two and two together. She had been all done up to go see Jeyice last night and now she was like _this._

"It's _fine_ ," she replied, between sobs, Trying to adjust her top so that her neck was concealed. " _I'm_ fine,"

"I asked you if he was mean to you and you said no," Trunks said firmly, standing up. "This isn't being nice,"

"No, but-"

Trunks shook his head and turned away from her.

"Where are you going?" Tarble asked.

"To see Jeyice," he answered shortly. He was just vibrating in anger at the thought that someone had been hurtful towards their mother.

"Don't!" she cried frantically. "Just leave it alone, Trunks!"

"You stay with her," Trunks said to Tarble, storming out of the room.

"Trunks, no!" she cried. "I won't be able to see you anymore!"

"Why not?" Tarble asked in confusion, torn between going after his brother and staying with Bulma.

"Because," she sobbed. "He's too much like his father... he doesn't think..."

"Should I go after him and bring him back?" Tarble asked, not noticing that she had said _his_ father instead of _your_ father.

"Bring him back, yes." She nodded, sniffing. By this point her voice was pretty much gone. "Before he does something stupid. I can handle Jeyice on my own."

Tarble looked at her a moment. It shook him up to see her so... like _this._ She was always happy and positive and confident even when he could tell she was tired or worn out. She _always_ put on a good face for them, even last night. She had tried to comfort them even though she had said she couldn't. "I don't think you can," he said, though he meant no disrespect. "I'll go get him before he does anything to get himself into trouble."

-0-0-0-

Trunks stormed angrily down the halls of King Cold's base towards the dining hall. He always had breakfast with Recoome and Burter and some of the other soldiers who happened to be around.

He wasn't going to wait until training to confront him. He wanted to do it now. It didn't occur to him that having an audience might not be to his advantage. He didn't care. The only thought going through his mind was that Jeyice had hurt his mother.

He recalled that queen on that planet they had destroyed, Geralt's wife. He had visions now of her being replaced by his mother and Jeyice doing that to her. It had been picking at him ever since they'd seen him with that queen. _How could he!_ He raged mentally again as the image went from him not only plunging into her from behind, but wrapping his hands around her neck while he did it.

"I should have known," he berated himself out loud. The more he thought about it, the more he literally vibrated in rage. He could feel and almost hear the energy crackling and humming around him. Even the hair on his head felt like it was standing on end.

He stomped into the dining hall, pausing only long enough to spot Jeyice who, as predicted, was sitting with Burter and Recoome.

"You wouldn't believe it," he was going on in a boastful tone.

"Really?" Recoome exclaimed, leaning in closer in interest.

"She's into some serious, twisted, kinky shit-"

Trunks didn't think twice, the roar of blood lust, rage and adrenaline pulsing through his veins unlike anything he had felt before was all that was guiding him as he just balled his fists and struck Jeyice square on the side of his jaw as soon as he was close enough.

Jeyice didn't know what had hit him. One moment he was having breakfast and had been bragging to Recoome and Burter, reiterating his supposed exploits with Bulma from the previous night, even though he couldn't remember a single thing. Now he was on the cold ground with the taste of blood in his mouth with the feeling of someone pummeling him and screaming at him.

He was still groggy and feeling slow from the sedative Bulma had given him, though he assumed he was just hungover.

"How could you!" Trunks screamed at him as he punched Jeyice over and over again in a blind rage.

"What the fuck?" Burter exclaimed in shock at Trunks sudden appearance; physically and literally.

"Ha ha ha haa!" Recoome laughed. "Look at him go!"

Jeyice's two comrades sat there dumbfounded, not coming to their colleague's rescue as they watched Trunks lay into him and wondered why his hair was platinum blonde instead of purple.

Finally out of a daze, Jeyice blocked a blow from Trunks and swiped his leg across his feet, causing him to trip. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, standing up. "Where do you think you get off and what the fuck is with your hair?"

"I'm going to kill you," Trunks growled in a very low, dangerous tone.

"Is that right?" he chuckled, standing up. "Alright then."

-0-0-0-

Tarble raced through the halls of the base as quickly as he could, hoping he could get to Trunks before he started anything. Hearing a loud crash from the direction of the lunch hall, he knew he was likely too late to stop him. Maybe he could talk some sense into him though before things escalated too far.

He ran into the lunch hall and all he could see was a crowd surrounding the far corner and he could hear the chanting of observers and the sound of blows being exchanged.

Tarble paused for a moment as a wave of fear rushed through him. How was he going to help Trunks now that his had obviously turned into a barbaric spectacle? He took a deep breath to compose himself before taking a bold step towards the riot, hoping he wouldn't get inadvertently crushed.

He pushed and shoved his way to the front with great difficulty.

"You'll stay out of it, boy, if you know what's good for you." One of the soldiers that Tarble didn't know well advised, grabbing his arm to keep him away from the altercation as soon as he was right up front of where Jeyice looked bloody and at least unconscious. It was Recoome who was fighting with Trunks now, though from the looks of it and it didn't look like he was doing well against Recoome, who was clearly just toying with him.

"I need to help my brother," he said, trying to wiggle his way out of his grasp, even though he knew he couldn't possibly win against Recoome.

"You can't," he said calmly. "Not unless you want to be included in his punishment once Cold catches wind of this."

Tarble quit struggling. He was torn between desperately wanting to help Trunks and most certainly not wanting a beating from King Cold. He also knew there was no way he could beat Recoome or Burter, who was standing back observing. However despite that, he felt like he was deserting his brother by not even attempting.

"Don't get involved," he said again. "Whatever your differences, it doesn't matter because you can't beat 'em anyway,"

He sighed in defeat. He didn't know this soldier's name, but he knew he was right.

"Best leave now so you will not be implicated at all," he said to him, guiding him out of the crowd. The soldier was tall, nearly as tall and thickly built as Recoome. "Go back to your mother."

"My mother?" he asked, wondering how the soldier knew.

"That's what all this is about, is it not?" he asked once they were out of the mess of spectators egging the fight on. "Jeyice was bragging about what he did with your mother, as he usually does, and Trunks overheard and went for him. He was full on Super Saiyan too for a while, but that's long gone."

"Yea, Jeyice hurt her real bad," Tarble admitted, trying not to cry. What was he going to do? Helping Trunks wasn't an option, but would his mother be angry with him if he went back to her without him? "Trunks told me to stay with her, but she told me to go bring him back."

"It's a bit late for that now, I'm afraid," he sighed, wincing as it looked like Trunks had just taken a hard knock. It was extraordinary though that the boy was still holding his own against Recoome. He had done some major damage to Jeyice as well; he would at the very least need to be in a regeneration tank for a little while. "Tell your mother what has happened, she'll be happy that one of her boys is okay. Now go, before anyone else sees you here."

"Wait, how do you know he is a Super Saiyan?" Tarble asked.

"His hair was blonde," the soldier replied. "It didn't last long, only long enough for him to beat the daylights out of Jeyice. Now go!"

Tarble still felt torn, but left the lunch hall and trudged back to the lab. He felt sick. Sick that he had just betrayed his brother, sick that his mother would be upset. Sick that she was hurt and upset because of Jeyice. Sick that he was too cowardly to even attempt to help his brother. What was he supposed to do? If Trunks couldn't beat them, there was no way he could. Besides, he figured, Trunks had told him to stay with their mother. Even he agreed that she shouldn't be left alone at the moment.

He went back into Bulma's room in the lab and found her sitting on the couch with her knees curled up and her head in them. She looked up at him as soon as she heard him enter the room. She looked a little better, but overall still worn and stressed out.

"Where's Trunks?" she asked. Her voice was still hoarse sounding.

"I… I couldn't do anything," he admitted shamefully. "He's fighting with Recoome, who I can't beat, but it looks like he got Jeyice pretty good; he was unconscious when I got there."

Bulma nodded but didn't say anything. She was so emotionally numb at the moment that she couldn't feel anything.

"I didn't see it myself, but one of the guys there said Trunks hair changed color. He said it was blonde," Tarble volunteered. "I've never seen that. He's stronger than me, but his hair never changes color."

Bulma looked at him and felt the slightest bloom of pride. "He's ascended," she said.

"Ascended?"

"He's moved up in strength to what Vegeta would call Super Saiyan," she informed him. "He worked so hard to get it and one day he did," she said, remembering that day back on Vegeta-sei with Zarbon and how he'd beaten him to death in front of her. It had been one of the most frightening, troublesome things she'd ever witnessed up to that point.

"So he's way stronger then?" Tarble asked. He and Trunks had heard the term _Super Saiyan_ when someone had referred to their father, but they didn't really know what it was or why it was a big deal.

"Way stronger," Bulma confirmed.

Tarble went into her kitchen and poured her some hot water they had begun preparing earlier for tea. He put in a bag and handed her a mug. She still looked and sounded terrible.

"Thank you," she said, sipping it carefully. "So is Trunks okay?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I was going to help him, but someone wouldn't let me in because Cold is going to be mad and I can't win anyway so he told me to leave so I wouldn't be implicated. I didn't want to… but... I was also worried about you because Trunks told me to stay here with you…"

"It's okay," she said, smiling weakly at him. She didn't know how to feel or how to react. On one hand she was worried sick that Tarble hadn't brought Trunks back, but on the other, there was no point in him being beat up for nothing in a fight he couldn't possibly win. That would break her heart as well. It gave her much comfort to hear that Trunks had made the transformation. It meant that he was _probably_ okay.

They sat together in silence until there was a single knock on her door and in walked the Android. "You are wanted in the throne room for an immediate meeting with King Cold," It said to Bulma, walking into her quarters.

_Oh god,_ she thought to herself in dread; her stomach tightening and she felt immediately like she might get nauseous. _As long as Trunks is okay, as long as Trunks is okay…_ she kept telling herself as she stood. She looked down at herself, wearing only her loose pants and top she usually wore in the lab. She was hardly in any shape to look presentable for an audience with a king, but on second thought, she didn't care. She silently followed the Android out of her room and Tarble followed, sticking close to Bulma as they walked down the hall and into the throne room.

Another unpleasant feeling washed through her as she realized the last time she'd been in this room was during Vegeta's trial; all the unpleasantness and anxiety she'd felt those two excruciatingly stressful days hit her like a brick wall. _We sat right there,_ she thought, looking at the empty row of seats at the front of the room. She remembered holding his hand and him wrapping his tail discreetly around her thigh during the trial as they sat there, him squeezing her thigh with his tail in encouragement every once in a while when he felt her beginning to lose her composure.

She shook herself out of her train of thought as she began to feel a panic attack coming on. She took a few deep breaths, hoping for the light headedness and nausea to pass so that she could focus on what was going on.

Glancing at King Cold, he did _not_ look happy and instinctually, she reached behind her and took Tarble's hand. If something bad had happened to Trunks, she needed him close to her because he was all she had left now. Also, she would not be letting Cold take him from her either.

"Miss Briefs," he greeted sternly.

Bulma nodded at him in greeting. She was afraid if she opened her mouth she would vomit everywhere.

"What have you done to yourself?" he asked with a frown. "You are a far cry from the radiant beauty I remember who so valiantly defended her mate."

Bulma swallowed hard, trying to find her voice. Her neck was still feeling tight and bruised from her encounter with Jeyice and she wasn't sure she would be able to speak properly because of that mixed with the panic flooding her. "I did not… have the time to prepare to meet you," she managed to croak out, thought she did not recognize the sound of her own voice. "Where is Trunks?"

Cold stiffened up to the mentioning of Trunks' name. "Your son is currently in a regeneration tank," he informed her and she sighed a huge sigh of relief. _He's alive and going to be just fine!_ She told herself. "You are aware he attacked his mentor, Jeyice. He attacked and very nearly killed him!"

_Good!_ She wanted to say. It was a shame he hadn't killed him, but at least he'd given him a good beat down, she thought in satisfaction.

"Jeyice is in critical condition and inside a regeneration tank as well," he continued.

_God, why?!_ she inwardly wallowed. _Just let him fucking die!_

"He will have to remain in there for at least a week, possibly two," Cold grumbled. "He was set to leave this morning on a very important mission! Now that is all to be cast to the wayside and I will be out _thousands_ of credits because of it!"

Bulma numbly looked at him as he ranted on and on about the implications behind the setback Jeyice's predicament was going to cost him. What did he want her to do about it? More importantly, why did he think she even _cared_ one iota about any mission or loss of income on his end?

"It would seem that there is a pattern here," she heard Cold say. Truthfully, she was only comprehending about half of what he was telling her, still trying to keep her breathing steady and not make herself sick from the stress of everything that was overwhelming her. "Prince Vegeta killed Zarbon, one of his superiors and he also killed his greatest mentor, _my son-_ "

_Oh my god, I know,_ she mentally groaned, not wanting to rehash all this old news with regards to Vegeta. She couldn't even bring himself to think about him right now. _Can he not just get to the fucking point already!_ she thought as he continued to drawl on about Vegeta and Trunks' supposed _disturbing_ similarities.

"What I find most interesting is the common denominator here seems to be _you_ ," he said finally, tipping his head in amusement at having drawn this apparent miraculous conclusion. "Whenever there is an issue, it seems to somehow involve you."

"We had this discussion at length during the trial if you'll recall," she said blandly. "In each and every instance, it happened because I was in danger or under threat. Vegeta acted accordingly. Trunks was no different."

"Yet Tarble did nothing," he pointed out, gesturing to the younger Saiyan who stood quietly next to Bulma, still holding her hand.

"Trunks told him to remain with me because he was concerned about my wellbeing," she said.

"Ah yes," he nodded. "You do look a horrid mess. Explain."

Bulma sighed. She didn't _want_ to talk about it. Especially with this barbaric asshole who had no sense of empathy, right or wrong. "I am not sure if you are aware of the agreement Jeyice made with me," she began, despite not wanting to say anything to him, however if it vindicated Trunks, then that was all that mattered to her. "He came to me around the time that Vegeta was permanently placed in the tank and said if I gave myself to him, I could see my sons."

"You took up with him, yes," he nodded nonchalantly. " _Everyone_ knows that, my dear."

"I didn't _take up_ with him!" she said angrily. "He blackmailed me! You think I would ever willingly take up with anyone while my own husband is living in a drug induced coma, fighting for his life?"

"Well you both have been liaising for some time now," he shrugged. "It is a perfectly reasonable assumption that a beautiful, young woman like yourself and in your current situation would align herself with another male for her own protection and advantage. Someone like Jeyice is a wonderful, smart choice. I do not understand why you have not moved in with him. I have granted permission for you to do so, however you are still to work in the lab, assisting Dr. Gero in anything he requires."

Bulma blinked at him blankly several times, completely dumbfounded. She wanted to _scream_. Did no one around here understand? The thought process and way of thinking she had encountered for the most part since her own home had been destroyed was so skewed that she was beginning to think that either she was having some terrible nightmare that she'd like to wake up from any time now, or she was finally going crazy and had made up her own rules of right and wrong this whole time. It hadn't been like this back home. Or not where she'd been raised. Was there nowhere else that held that kind of thinking? That _this_ was wrong!

"You are wrong," she said finally. "Wrong! As in _this_ is _not okay!_ I did _not_ "take up" with Jeyice because I was looking for comfort or companionship! I will _not_ move in with him because I do not _want_ to be with him! I will not put myself in a situation that moves me further away from Vegeta!"

"Then you are with Jeyice, _why_?" King Cold asked, frowning at her in confusion.

"Because he said if I didn't fuck him, I would never see my children!" she screamed as best she could. Her throat burning by this point from trauma and trying to swallow back a lump of emotion and frustration at the complete and utter stupidity surrounding her at the moment.

Tarble looked at her in shock. So _that_ was the payment arrangement. Immediately he felt guilt and shame that he and Trunks had not understood. They had recently began to suspect something not good was going on, but weren't sure. Why would Jeyice do something so terrible? He was their mentor. He had raised them. He seemed to care about them and if they had gotten to know their mother or not.

"I see, so it is an arrangement of convenience," Cold nodded in understanding, though seemed thoughtful about it, rather than appalled. "So what of the drama this morning then?"

"Jeyice roughed me up this morning," she said, exposing her neck to him so he could see the bruising. "Trunks and Tarble unexpectedly showed up and brought me breakfast and I tried to keep it from them, but I was still distressed because it had _just_ happened. Trunks got angry and reacted before I could intervene."

"Just like his father," Cold said, shaking his head. "Completely unacceptable."

"He was upset, angry and concerned," she defended. "I was still shook up, and wasn't able to stop him in time."

"You should not have to," Cold said. "It is unacceptable in any stretch to attack your superior and mentor for _any_ reason. A penalty will be paid."

Bulma balled her hands into fists and marched straight up to King Cold's throne.

"Mom, don't!" Tarble hissed going after her.

"Look here, you!" she shouted at him, so angry by this point she didn't care that it may not be deemed proper or respectful for her to approach him so directly and disrespectfully. "What is _unacceptable_ is how your soldiers conduct themselves! I shouldn't have to make such an arrangement in order to see _my_ children!"

"Mom, just leave it," Tarble said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. If she didn't walk away, Cold would only be harder on Trunks later on because of her.

"No! _You_ don't understand!" she cried at him, stepping away from him. "You need to have a word with Jeyice once he's out and tell him to leave me alone!"

Cold laughed at her.

"I'm serious! If he touches me again, I will fucking kill him!"

"Well then," Cold snorted in amusement, still laughing at her as though she had told the funniest joke he had ever heard. "I suppose you _are_ serious. However you should not have made such an arrangement then."

"Please," Tarble said quickly, jumping in before Bulma lost her cool any further. "My mother is extremely upset. She's been through a lot. Please just give Trunks a pass on this. I'll watch over him and make sure this doesn't happen again."

"We will see once I have had the opportunity to speak with him in an hour or so," Cold shrugged in disinterest. "You may leave now,"

Bulma shook her head and marched out of the throne room as quickly as she possibly could without breaking into a run. She didn't say a word the entire way back to the lab. "I can't believe this," she muttered over and over again, pacing her room once they got in and shut the door. "We _need_ to get out of here."

"Just calm down," Tarble said, trying to be helpful. In actuality, he was freaked right out by her demeanor. "It's going to be alright,"

"How is it going to be alright!" she freaked out on him. "Who knows what Cold is going to do to Trunks now? We need to formulate a plan, pack up Vegeta and get the _fuck_ out of here before I lose my mind. I _can't_ do this anymore."

Tarble shrugged, completely at a loss about how he could possibly help or calm her down. She sounded a little better at least; her voice less hoarse, but he'd never seen her so frantic before. "It will be alright," he said, trying to convince himself of that as much as her. "Trunks is Cold's _favorite._ He won't do anything that bad to him that he won't be able to come back from." He knew Trunks would be in for a major beating from King Cold when he was out of the regeneration tank, but he didn't want to tell Bulma that.

Bulma didn't say anything else, just sat down, burying her head in her hands. She had her ship and all her supplies, but how did she get any of that out without drawing attention to herself? "Can you fly?" she asked Tarble so quietly he could barely hear her.

"Of course," he nodded. "Jeyice taught us before we could even-"

"A ship," she interrupted him. She was sure she remembered them talking about how Tarble was the better pilot of the two of them. "Can you fly a space craft?"

"Yes, I can," he nodded. "But I don't have clearance to leave with any of them if that's what you're thinking. My card won't give me authorized access to even start any of the ships here."

"That's fine, I have a ship," she said. "You can fly just about anything though, right?"

"So far as I know," he nodded.

Bulma was quiet as she mulled it over. If she could get Tarble to get the ship to the dock, maybe she could begin planning an escape. Sure she could fly the ship herself, but if she broke Vegeta out of the tank, he'd need possible medical support to bring him back to consciousness. She wouldn't be comfortable leaving him unattended. Not to mention she had no idea where to go or how to successfully fly through a stressful situation if they were caught and being shot at or pursued.

She also needed to test out the effects of that perception filter Jeyice had gotten her. She would need to put it on the ship somehow to keep it hidden. If only she had more than one. _Fuck!_ There was so much work to be done and she had wasted so much time on her stupid time machine!

_First things first,_ she told herself. She needed to see how this perception filter worked; she hoped to high heaven it worked and decided if it did, she would have to find a way to gather more. She just needed to make sure it _did_ work before organizing that. She would wait until the opportune time before trying it out on Dende.

The only problem she could see was the Android was still always keeping a watch in the lab, presumably to make sure that Vegeta did not miraculously wake up and escape. Jeyice had mentioned to her that the filter didn't work on surveillance devices and animals. She wondered if that applied to artificial intelligence as well? She didn't want to scurry around the lab wearing it and have It rat out her presence; no, she would try another time to see if it worked on the Android. Dende first.

"Alright," she said to him. "Just hang tight. I may need your help, but not before we can take Trunks and Vegeta with us, and I may need you boys to take a shopping trip the next time you are out."

"Of course," he nodded eagerly. "We need to get out of here. All of us."

"We will, sweetie, we will," she said determinedly.

Trunks was let out of the regeneration tank only a few hours later, still in an extremely bad state. He was brought to Cold and given a severe beating for his actions and then left in the jail cells, denied any medical attention or contact with anyone for an entire week before he was granted the use of a tank; Tarble wasn't even allowed to see him or check on him. Conveniently enough, it was the same day Jeyice had been released from his tank that Trunks was put in.

Throughout that time, Tarble told Bulma that Trunks was still in the tank and that there were no changes. He asked about Trunks daily, but had not been allowed to see him or talk to him and he did not want to upset his mother by letting her know that he was sitting in a dank cell suffering on his own until King Cold decided to give him some relief.

On a positive note, the perception filter worked!

Bulma had tested it out on Dende and they were currently working in the late evening hours on splitting the small stone into smaller pieces so they could divide it. It seemed that it did not lose its effectiveness even when cut in half. After some thorough research, Bulma had been able to figure out where Jeyice had gotten the filter from and Tarble volunteered to get her more if they were near that planet on his next mission. She still had the capsule with everything Vegeta had prepared for them; funds as well in a universal currency that he had told her could not be traced and would be good anywhere.

Things were slowly, but surely beginning to look up for them as Bulma began to make plans for their escape. The one thing that troubled her was getting Vegeta out of the tank and moved to the ship unnoticed. There were surveillance cameras everywhere and only a very short period of time when the Android was not present. On top of that, she discovered that the filter did not work on It.

Despite her frustrations and many roadblocks, Bulma persisted. The perception filter had been broken into four pieces. The way the plan was looking, she needed one for her capsulized ship and have it stored in an area in the hangar that was not under surveillance. She wanted Tarble and Trunks to paint it with the stealth paint _if_ possible. Tarble said that if they could remain unseen with the help of the filter, he would be willing to do it. However, finding the time to scope out the many hangars and load bays for a place to safely do it was proving difficult for him.

King Cold still had him training daily with other soldiers.

Bulma hadn't made any further progress on her time machine, convinced that it was a complete waste of her time since she'd seen Jeyice last.

He had been sent out on his mission as soon as he had been released from the regeneration tank. He had not come to see her since then, much to her relief. She held her resolve that the next time he tried to sleep with her, she would end him. She was done.

She had begun keeping a knife on her at all times in the even that he returned and showed up unannounced and when she slept at night, she kept it under her pillow.

When Trunks had been released from the tank, fully recovered, he only had time to see Bulma once. King Cold had kept him so busy with training. He had been withdrawn and did not ask about Jeyice or anything pertaining to the events that had happened the last time they had seen each other. _Just like your father,_ she had told herself, though it hurt her at her soul that he had changed so much since she'd seen him last. It was as though he could not look at her and while she understood somewhat, it grieved her deeply that her son seemed to only want to keep her at arm's length.

It was two months before both boys were sent on another mission, coincidentally enough on the same day that Jeyice was returning. Trunks ran into him in the hangar while preparing their ship for their own departure.

"Well, look who it is!" Jeyice taunted him. "You _did_ survive King Cold's wrath after all, hmm?"

"Leave me alone," Trunks growled, turning away from him. The mere sight of the orange man he'd once looked up to made him vibrate in rage.

"You try anything like that again, _boy,_ I'll gut your mother while I fuck her, got it?" Jeyice hissed, his voice filled with malice. "Don't think I won't. An' if you're lucky enough to kill me, I've let Burter and Recoome know and they are to dispose of her _and_ your weakling brother in the most painful manner at which they can come up with."

Trunks grit his teeth in anger. He would bide his time. Hopefully in a short time they would possibly be sent on a mission together and he could find a way to get rid of him and make it look like an accident. He would even keep it to himself and not let Tarble in on his plans so that he would not be implicated.

"Don't be thinking because you're a fancy Super Saiyan now that you're able to do anything either," Jeyice chuckled. "You're father was stupid enough to think he could take down an entire empire of this magnitude, look where that got him!"

Trunks said nothing, just glared at him. "Let's go, Trunks," Tarble urged him, not wanting this exchange to turn into an altercation.

"That's right, get on you two," Jeyice said. "Have a pleasant mission and I'll tell your mother you both said goodbye. As a matter of fact, I'll be on my way to go see her shortly."

"Leave her _alone_ ," Trunks growled.

"That's not up to you, now is it?"

"Trunks, let's go," Tarble insisted again. "He's not worth it."

"That hurts," Jeyice said, placing a hand on his heart. "Don't worry though boys, I'll take _good_ care of her in your absence. Run along now."

Trunks balled his fists as he watched Jeyice turn and leave, a cocky bounce in his step. "Trunks, there's nothing we can do about it, let's go. We'll get him another time."

"You aren't even _bothered_ knowing he's going to see her after what happened last time? Now that we _know_?" Trunks asked, pulling away from him in disgust.

"Of course I'm bothered by it, Trunks!" Tarble replied in a hurt tone. "But until we can stop him and get out of here, there's not much point. He'll only hurt mom more and who knows what King Cold will do. We have to be smart and wait. Mom is planning-"

"Yea, I _know_ Mom's been planning an escape since she got here yet how long has it been and how many times have we heard that?" Trunks snorted, picking up one of the supply boxes and heading into the ship with it.

"It's not as easy as that, Trunks and you know it. She needs to find a way to bring Dad with us,"

"Whatever," Trunks shook his head. "We're never going to get out of here. Dad can stay in there and Jeyice can keep doing whatever he wants. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's _always_ been."

Tarble didn't say anything. Since the incident, Trunks had been simply bitter and not very approachable. All he wanted to do was train and be left alone and so Tarble had respectfully given him his space. He was hoping that now that they would be together on a ship, he could begin filling him on the plans he and Bulma had been slowly setting in motion.

They finished loading up everything they had been instructed to and found their quarters on the ship, patiently waiting for takeoff so that they could get away from this place. Even if it was only for a little while.

-0-0-0-

Jeyice managed to shower quickly and decided that paying Bulma a visit was the first order of business. It was his every intention to make things right with her, hopefully that night. He decided he would go see her, invite her over for dinner and hope she accepted. It had been a little over two months since he'd seen her. She couldn't still be _that_ upset with him, could she? He walked into the lab and into her room, where he found her eating a less than appealing-looking meal. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered. The claustrophobic feeling of dread and hopelessness closed in around her as he walked into her room unannounced, as usual. It had been so peaceful without him around these last few weeks.

"I see you cut your hair since I seen you last," he said conversationally. She didn't respond. "I wanted to have you over for dinner, if you'd let me an' thought we could talk about a few things," he said, approaching her slowly.

"There's nothing to talk about, please leave me alone." she said firmly, but looking at the floor between them. "I'm staying here, I'm not moving in with you and I don't think we should see each other anymore."

"Oh come _on,_ " he whined. "Are you still upset over that _little_ incident, love? If I recall, you enjoyed yourself quite thoroughly."

Shame ripped through her at the reminder that she _had_ gotten fulfillment from him last time despite how horrific it had been. "I did not," she lied.

"Sure," he nodded. "Keep telling yourself that. I _did_ bring you back something, however."

"I don't want it," she said without consideration. She just wanted him to leave.

"You don't want another perception filter or _two_?" he practically sang, waving a box in front of her that she had not noticed he had been holding.

_Fuck,_ she cursed to herself. She wanted it, but not for the price he would be asking for it.

"Come _on,"_ he urged her, holding the small box out to her. "Look, I'm sorry about last time, I didn't mean it. Let's just put it behind us an' move on. You can tell the boys everything is fine so they'll quit looking at me with pure hate. That hurts, you know. _I_ raised them too."

Bulma sat there a moment, weighing out her options. She _needed_ those filters for their escape, but she didn't want him to touch her again. However she also knew his train of thought of giving and receiving things. There was always that expectation. As she thought about it, she remembered that she had her knife stashed safely under her pillow. Maybe she could start something with him and finish him.

_No, I can't,_ the weak side of her said. What if she missed and then he killed her for attempting to take his life? What if he lived through it, then what? Adrenaline began to pump through her veins as she thought about the last time they were together and how angry at herself she had been for not taking him out when she'd had the chance. _You can do this,_ she told herself. Jeyice had something she needed and seemingly wanted to make amends. That meant it would possibly be fairly easy to get him into her bed and distract him long enough to end him.

With that thought in mind she nodded and stood up. "You're right,"

"About what?" he asked in confusion at her sudden change in demeanor.

"We should try this again," she said. "We need to do what's best for the boys."

"That's right," he agreed. "You know they just left on a mission but when they get back, we should all do a nice dinner at my place."

"I could go for that," she nodded, forcing a smile and standing up to meet him in the middle of the room. He handed her the box and she placed it on the table far from his reach before taking her top and pants off in front of him revealing a very plain, practical bra and panties.

She closed the distance between them, opened her mouth and kissed him with as much enthusiasm as she could drum up. He seemed pleased with her effort and kissed her back. As they made out, Bulma placed one hand on his neck and the other she slid down the front of his pants, stroking him through the fabric.

He growled in both surprise and delight at her bold advance and continued to kiss her. While he was distracted, she moved the hand that was on his neck up to the side of his face where his scouter was still on his ear and took it off.

Jeyice didn't react to it or seem to care and as she continued to stroke him and kiss him, she held down the red button, shutting it off and tossed it behind them. All thoughts of taking her back to his place forgotten, he quickly removed his armor and flight suit and eagerly followed Bulma to her bed. She had been easier to convince than he thought she would be, he thought in anticipation.

Bulma removed her bra, leaving her panties on and pushed him onto the side of her bed so that he was sitting. She was near enough where her pillow was that she should be able to reach under it undetected if she kept him distracted enough. She straddled his lap and kissed him urgently as she ground her hips into his groin.

He groaned at her aggressive advance, pulling her hips tighter against him as he kissed her back with just as much enthusiasm.

Bulma was just about to attempt to push him down on his back when he suddenly flipped her around onto her back. Panic and anxiety washed through her as he held her hands above her head, pinning her down on the mattress where she did not want to be. The knife was just under her pillow within her reach but if she couldn't grab it, it wasn't of any good to her.

Her mind raced and anxiety ripped through her as Jeyice continued to explore her body with his free hand and mouth. She couldn't do this anymore; not for a single moment, she couldn't bare it. If she didn't manage to kill him now, this time, she decided then and there that she would kill herself once he was done with her. She absolutely could _not_ live like this anymore.

She started trying to twist her wrists out of his grasp; even if she only got her left hand free, that was all she needed.

"Would you quit your squirming?" he complained irritably against her breast. "It's very distracting, it is,"

"Sorry," she ground out. "I just, I want to touch you. Nothing makes me hotter than to be able to run my hands all over a strong man's body as he fucks me."

Jeyice snickered against her skin. "Well in that case, touch all you want," he said, letting her hands go but grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him, pinning his pelvis into hers.

She ran her fingers through his hair and down his neck, resting them briefly on his shoulders, kneading the muscles there for a moment before moving her right hand on his chest and her left down his arm, letting it linger there as she distracted him with her other hand. Since she knew she would not be able to get a firm grip on the knife with her damaged right hand, she decided her left was her best bet, despite it not being her dominant side.

He didn't notice the absence of her left hand at all as he shoved his own hand down the front of her panties and two of his fingers into her.

Bulma quickly slid her hand under the pillow, gripping the handle and moaning a positive reaction to his ministrations. She needed to keep him distracted enough to not see what was coming but get this over with before it went too much further. She couldn't bare for it to happen one more time.

As Jeyice moved down the length of her body, licking and nipping at her, she slowly counted to five before stabbing him in the side of his neck.

"What the-?" he exclaimed in shock, immediately bringing a hand to the side of his neck and then looked at the blood on his hand in disbelief before looking at her. "You fucking little bitch!" he rasped. Instead of grabbing the knife from her hand, he wrapped both of his hands around her neck and began choking and violently shaking her.

Of course, her natural reaction had been to pry his hands off of her neck. She let the knife go at her side and began desperately clawing at his hands, but the more she fought him, the tighter his hands felt around her neck.

She couldn't even hear the obscenities and insults he was spewing at her over her own panic and her pulse pounding in her ears, drowning everything else out. She eventually quit trying to fight him as she began to feel dizzy and began feeling on the mattress for her knife again, hoping and praying that it had not fallen on the floor during their struggle.

Just as she began to feel light headed and see black spots everywhere, she felt the handle of it and made a second swing at him, hitting him on the lower part of his neck, just above his collarbone, hoping to have gotten his main artery this time.

Jeyice let go of her neck in response to the new wound inflicted on him and she took advantage of that, pushing at his chest as hard as she could in an effort to get him off of her.

He toppled down off the side of her bed and she tried to refrain from coughing and wheezing as she took a deep breath, still recovering from being nearly strangled by him only seconds ago. Unfortunately though, he now had the knife; she had left it in the juncture of his neck and shoulder instead of pulling it back out.

"You fucking little bitch!" he wheezed at her again, clutching at his neck desperately as the blood continued to flow steadily. He lunged for her, swiping the knife horizontally and she cried out as it connected and sliced through her before she could move out of his way. He tried to stab her again, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. He snarled in anger and disbelief of what she had done to him. "I'll not forget this you know," he said.

Bulma didn't say anything. She just stood there in shock, leaning against the wall, clutching her abdomen wound as she watched him bleed. She wasn't sure what she was more shocked over; the fact that she'd built up the nerve to stab him herself or the fact that he'd stabbed her back and now she was bleeding everywhere.

Jeyice chuckled at her. "Looks like I will be seeing you in hell shortly," he said as he took note of her own condition. "An' when I do, you'll pay for this _dearly_ ; you will wish you were still alive in this dump." he snarled venomously at her, his words beginning to slur.

Bulma slid down to the floor slowly; the room was beginning to spin and it was making her feel light headed and nauseous. She moved her hand off of her stomach and looked at the wound. It was deep; he'd gotten her good. Chances were, Jeyice was right. She _was_ going to die. She hadn't planned accordingly. _Oh well._

"Farewell, kitten," Jeyice hissed. "You did please me _some_ of the time at least."

"You _never_ pleased me," she replied quietly. The corner or her mouth turned up in a smile as she watched him bleed out in front of her; shock and disbelief written all over his face. "Serves you right," she said weakly even though she knew he didn't hear her in his own panic.

No, things did not go as she had planned but at least she'd killed him; that was good enough for her. She wondered if death would be all that bad.

"Trunks, I'm sorry," she murmured sadly to herself. She was already lightheaded and beginning to teeter between consciousness and unconsciousness. _Be a good boy, look after yourself and Tarble and get out of here._

_**Oh, Vegeta. My love,**_ she thought as she felt herself slowly falling away as she felt herself beginning to fall away. She felt a searing pain in her head and her center and she knew she had lost far too much blood to make it at this point. The door was too far away and she was too tired to attempt it. It was okay though. She did not fight to stay awake; she had fought so long, she was tired of fighting. _**I tried to get us out but I failed, forgive me... I love you.**_

Those were her last thoughts as everything faded to black around her…

 

-0-0-0-

 

Come follow me on Tumbler!! My screen name is Froglady15.


	38. Chapter 38

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

_**Butterflies & Hurricanes ** _

Alright… I was going to be a bad author and wait like a week before posting this chapter… but then decided you guys have been through enough. Thank you for being patient and sticking with me on this emotional roller coaster ride!

_**Chapter 38** _

Warmth and the comfort of strong, familiar arms combined with a blissful feeling of weightlessness and waves of pleasure, comfort and pleasantness enveloped her entire body, soul and mind.

_I'm free,_ she thought, clinging to the comfort of nearness and heat around her, never wanting it to abandon her. She could not remember the last time she had felt peace and contentment like this. Well, she could, but she refused to dwell on it; doing that only reminded her of everything she had lost. No, she could not think about it, not now.

Something inexplicable and amazing was happening to her and she needed it to never leave her. Even though she couldn't see anything, she could _feel Him_ and _smell_ _Him_. _He_ was everywhere: around her, inside her, touching every inch of her body and giving her pleasure she hadn't felt since the last time they'd been together, filling her up completely with his love and assurance that she was safe now. She still was not sure what this phenomenon was, but it didn't matter; they were together again somehow. _If this is what death feels like, sign me up._

_**Silly woman, you are positively not dead,**_ he softly scolded her; his voice rough, yet smooth as velvet and hearing it after all this time made her heart flutter in longing and excitement. _**You have far too much to live for yet for you to die now and I am depending on you to not die. If you die, then so do I. Do not abandon hope.**_

_**I cannot go on, Vegeta,**_ she said defeated, despite his urging her. _**If death brings us together like this, then it's worth it.**_

_**And what of our son?**_ He asked harshly. _**You would abandon him?**_

_**He is strong, Vegeta,**_ she said. _**Oh, how I wish you could meet him. He is strong and a good person, Vegeta. You would be so proud!**_

_**I know he is, of course he is strong and good,**_ he admitted haughtily and she was about to take him to task for his arrogance but he spoke again before she had the chance. _**He has nothing but the best qualities of you and me running through him. How could he be anything less than good and strong?**_

_**I know.** _

_**Yet you would leave him to go on in these conditions?**_ He asked accusingly.

_**I don't want to, Vegeta, no,**_ she replied. _**He is strong, has a level head and a good heart. Somehow I was still able to impart that onto him despite barely being able to raise him myself. He doesn't need me.**_

_**He does,**_ he firmly insisted. _**How could you think such a thing so absurd? You wish to abandon our son to be with me and yet think he has no use for you? You are wrong.**_

_**All I do is hold him back and make him worry,**_ she said dejectedly. _**If I was to not make it, he would be devastated but it would be better for him in the long run. If he saw a chance to get out, he and Tarble could make a run of it without ruining their chances because of an obligation to take me with them. And I won't leave without you either so it is better this way, Vegeta. Come with me! I need you.**_

She felt him bristle in disapproval but he did not say anything further.

_**Where are we?**_ She asked, still she could not see him, she could only feel him and the feelings of intense desire ripping through her soul _ **. If I'm not dead, is this some form of limbo land or an amazing dream that I never want to awake from?**_

_**The bond.** _

_**I can feel you, but I can't see you,**_ she said, clinging to his presence. It felt like he was so close to her; she could feel the very essence of him all around her and she reveled in it, but she wished she could see him.

_**Work at it,**_ he replied. _**Search and try to break that wall, it has been so long that your mind is out of practice.**_

She tried, reaching and cleaving to him. His presence still washing over her being in waves. _**Can you see me?**_

_**Of course,**_ he chuckled. _**Look, Bulma; really look and I will be found.**_

Bulma opened her eyes and her heart rejoiced as she saw Vegeta beside her, the look of absolute adoration and carefully checked emotion, causing his brow to furrow just a little as he held back his own emotions was a glorious sight to her. She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could, not wanting to let him go.

"I can't believe this," she cried against his neck, feeling overwhelmed. He felt real and smelled real. "I have so much I need to tell you, Vegeta. I don't even know where to start…"

"Do not rush, we have a couple of hours," he said easily, holding her tightly against him. She could feel his tail wrap itself leisurely around her waist.

"We do?"

"Uhm-hmm," he grunted, burying his nose in her hair, taking in her scent.

"So this isn't real?" she asked, disappointment once again flooding through her. She so desperately wanted it to be real. If it wasn't, then that meant she couldn't stay with him.

"Oh it is real, Woman,"

"It's almost too good to be true," she admitted. "But how?"

_**Enough with the questions,**_ he said, squeezing her waist with his tail tightly. _**I do not want to waste what valuable time we do have left discussing it**_.

She let him go briefly as she looked around a moment later and realized that they were on Vegeta's island on Vegeta-sei. "How?" She asked, Vegeta-sei was long since gone. _This is just a dream,_ she realized in disappointment.

"The bond," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her and resting his chin leisurely on her left shoulder.

She inhaled sharply in panic and went to cover her shoulder, not wanting him to see the scars marring her shoulder and back left over from her encounter with his father.

He took her hand and kissed the top of her fingers tenderly. _**Why are you anxious?**_

"I just… There's some ugly scars I don't want you to see." She confessed.

"Hmmn," he grunted, brushing his lips lightly along her shoulder. "I see no scars, woman, you are perfect."

She frowned and looked at her right hand and realized for the first time that it was as good as new; her hair was long again as well, grown just a little bit past her shoulders. Her hand migrated to her abdomen as well, but there was no tenderness there. "Any injuries you may have sustained do not exist here," he said. "This is how I see you, where I want to see you."

"It is, it?" She asked slyly, realizing she was wearing a barely there silk negligee in royal blue that clung to her curves, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. _**Figures,**_ she snorted inwardly but smiled at him. He was wearing nothing but a loose pair of black cotton pants that whipped gently with the breeze. He looked as magnificent as always before all of this. He was whole and strong and well nourished.

"Where do you want to be?" He asked.

"I'm happy anywhere as long as I am with you," she admitted truthfully, leaning back into his secure embrace.

"Think of a place you want to be and we can be there," he said. "Show me someplace of your home world."

_**It's that easy?**_ She asked in awe and wondered why they hadn't done this before.

_**Anywhere,**_ he confirmed.

She thought a moment and they were transported to the massive front yard of Capsule Corporation. "This was my home," she said, taking his hand and leading him in through the front door.

Bulma gave him a quick tour of the main floor before taking him into one of the large sitting rooms that had been her favorite to lounge in. She was completely caught up and overwhelmed, looking at everything and taking it all in that she nearly forgot all about Vegeta until he wrapped both arms and his tail snuggly around her waist, pulling her as tightly against him as he could. "Oh, Vegeta," she sighed, turning around in his arms, kissing him and letting her tears fall as she herself practically drowned in his presence.

"Where is your bedroom?" He asked her in a husked tone against her lips as he continued to kiss her deeply.

"Out of this room, up the stairs and the first door on your left." She said, trying to step away from him to take him there, but he scooped her up in his arms.

They were there in a moment and he set her on the ground. "Your room was almost as large as mine," he commented appreciatively as he looked around.

Bulma smiled at him as she took in the room. It was just as she remembered it, but then remembered of course it would! This was her memory.

She looked around the room, the feeling of nostalgia making her feel calm and at ease. As she looked through a few of her things, she turned on the stereo, playing a soft piano tune.

Walking up to Vegeta, she took his hand. "Dance with me," she demanded, sliding an arm up and around his shoulder and leaned into him.

"Of all the things that you can show me or places to go and things we can do, _this_ is what you choose to do with our time?" He asked in an accusing tone, betraying his thinly veiled amusement at her silly, random choice.

"It is." She nodded, resting her cheek on his chest, sighing and breathing in his scent with contentment as he held her right hand and wrapped his left arm around her waist, bringing her close and swaying gently to the soothing tone of the music playing. She was reminded of the first day they had met, and she had made him dance with her.

They stayed that way for a long time, just content to be alone together in a peaceful setting. She kept questioning whether or not this was real or just a dream or a crazy hallucination from the trauma she had just sustained? It _felt_ real, but she knew it couldn't possibly be. Her home had been destroyed years ago; same with Vegeta-sei.

_**It is real,**_ he said.

"How?" She asked.

"Not sure," he replied, playfully nipping and licking the base of her neck where her scar was from when he had claimed her. _**There are many aspects of the bond that are unknown. I have been trying to reach you however, and have been unsuccessful until now. I think we may have broken a new barrier.**_

"I talk to you every day, Vegeta," she said, gripping either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. "I try and try and-"

"I know," he said before cutting her off and kissing her within an inch of her life. _**I hear you,**_

"But I can't hear you?"

"For whatever reason, no." he said, resuming his assault, but moving back down to her neck where he had been previously before she'd distracted him.

"How do I make it so I can hear you?" she asked, completely distracted now from his ministrations as her scientific mind began to swirl and try to think up some way to rectify this.

"Would you quit worrying about it and relax?" He growled. _**Your incessant scheming is ruining the mood. I did not seek you out to listen to you solve matters which cannot be fixed. I came here to ravish my mate now that we have been blessed the opportunity.**_

She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him as they began to sway gently to the music again. "Sorry," she said. "I just, I try to talk to you every day and I never get a response. I need your guidance."

"No, you do not."

"Yes, Vegeta, I do!" She insisted rather harshly, wishing he would take her seriously. "I don't know what to do!"

"Yes, you do," he said, halting his affections and looking at her. "You know what you are doing, you do not need me to tell you what to do, and you never have. Just finish what you _initially started_ and everything else will fall into place."

"I'm sorry," she said as her emotions began to boil over. "I _do_ need you. I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry for what?"

"For everything," she cried. "I don't even know who I am anymore, Vegeta. I have done things, bad things; things that will condemn me to hell."

"Nothing you could ever do would condemn you to hell, woman," he said reassuringly. "If such a thing were to happen, I will take it up with the gods myself personally."

She wanted to laugh at his haughtiness and she didn't doubt that he would give the gods a bad time but instead of a laugh, she sobbed. _**I've become such a horrible person, Vegeta.**_

_**I doubt that, Woman. You have done whatever you have done in order to stay alive. In doing that, you protect our son and you protect me. So long as you live, there is hope for us yet.**_ He said with such conviction, she almost believed him. _**You do what you need to do and fuck everyone else who might stand in your way; you owe them nothing. I will spit on any gods that would dare condemn you to hell for that.**_

"You say that now," she said sadly out loud, reaching up and cupping his cheek with her hand. "Do you even know why I am here? What happened to me?"

_**No,**_ he replied, leaning in to kiss her again. _**But it must have been pretty serious that you were put into a regeneration tank.**_

"Is that where I am?"

_**Uhm-hmmm.** _

"So this isn't real?" she asked in disappointment.

"Oh it is real, woman," he insisted again, his lips descending on her again where he began sucking and lightly nipping at her nearly bare shoulder.

"Vegeta, I need to know what you want me to do," she said, twisting herself so that he would stop kissing her for a moment. "I'm working on a plan to get us all out; you, me, Trunks, Tarble and Dende."

"Then do what you think is the right thing, woman. Just do not put yourself or the boy at risk." Was all he said, shrugging, not deterred from expressing his physical affections on her.

"Well, it's going to be risky, Vegeta," she said looking at him seriously. "I'm in a regeneration tank right now because of something that I needed to do. No, I suppose it wasn't necessary for my mission in getting us out of here, but it was something that I needed to do for _me_ , and it didn't go quite as planned, obviously."

He stopped kissing her and looked at her closely, his features troubled and she was relieved to finally get a real, _true_ reaction from him. While she loved the distraction and appreciated his efforts to keep things light and care free and to keep her mind occupied from all the horribleness that had happened, hell she absolutely _loved_ him for it! But she needed him to be serious. There were things that she needed to ask him now while she could.

"What happened?" He asked, his features clouded in deep concern.

_**It doesn't matter,**_ she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "There was something I needed to take care of and I did, that's all that matters."

"Someone hurt you."

She nodded and looked away, swallowing the lump of emotion threatening to make itself known as thoughts of Jeyice began to plague her mind. _**It's done. I took a stand, I... it was harder than I thought it would be, but I'm past it.**_

She could not read the look on his face, but it wasn't a good look. Shame and fear washed through her; she was afraid that he would push her aside and tell her he did not want her anymore. "Vegeta, I'm not the same person I was before, I don't even know who I am anymore. I'm not, I've done things, bad things and I'm sorry-"

He took the sides of her face in both of his hands and kissed her deeply with such a scorching intensity that she forgot what she was saying. He imparted to her all his love, strength and pride he had in her, trying to erase her feelings of shame. _**If someone hurt you or caused you distress and you took them out, I could not be more proud of you. Especially since I cannot protect you, it is I that should be apologizing to you, it is I who should feel shame, not you, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I only wish that I could have seen it for myself.**_

She smiled at him despite her sadness.

He let her go but her took her hand, leading her towards her bed and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation of what he obviously had in mind, but she stopped mere meters from her bed as reality began to hit her with a ton of bricks and an odd sense of deja vu began to creep up as he lead her closer to her bed.

Vegeta gave her a questioning look at her sudden hesitancy.

_**Not here,**_ she said, shaking her head at him, and she knew her face was a deep crimson and that she was being silly, but her heart began to pound as she stared at her bed and realized it wasn't _her_ bed in her old room, but it looked like the bed in Jeyice's bedroom. Terror began to course through her and she began to feel anxious and claustrophobic as the entire room now took on the dark coloring and appearance of Jeyice's bedroom in his quarters.

Bulma felt like she was trapped in a dungeon, despite Vegeta's reassuring presence beside her. She felt trapped. As she began to feel a panic attack binning to take shape, she closed her eyes tight, took a deep breath and counted to ten before opening them again and there she was, in her old bedroom, in her home again with Vegeta. Still, the sudden needed to get out of that room as quickly as possible took over any possible feelings of desire for Vegeta that had been building inside of her the last few minutes together. "Take us back," she whispered, closing the gap between them and kissing him on the mouth, wanting to get the bad memories and images out of her mind before they accidentally took shape again.

"Hmmn," he grunted, kissing her back. _**Where?**_

_**Back to your island; the beach where it is sunny and warm and represents everything that is good. Where you brought me and we exchanged our vows before we made love for the first time and where we spent our last perfect moments together before all this hell took over,**_ she said passionately. "This was my home and it holds fond memories, but your island on Vegeta-sei is my most favorite place in the universe. If we only have a few hours, I want to spend it there."

"I can arrange that," he chuckled dryly and in an instant they were there again.

Bulma smiled at him in delight. It was perfect! She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you," she said between kisses all over his face.

He softly said something to her in his native language and it sounded so foreign to her because he almost never spoke in it, usually only when he was really angry.

_**What does that mean?**_ She asked.

_**I belong to you, as you belong to me.**_ He said, resting his forehead against hers. _**I love you, Woman. Don't ever forget that.**_

Bulma looked back at him, reeling in her emotions. _Was this real?_ She asked herself again. Vegeta never told her that so easily. "I love you too." She smiled at him. While he had been a little bit off this entire time, she was alright with that. He had told her he loved her more in these last few hours than the entire two years they had been together before everything.

She pulled down on his arm and she sat down in the sand. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her into him as they reclined on the sand.

Bulma rested the back of her head against his arm, in the crook of his elbow and closed her eyes in contentment, basking in the security of being in Vegeta's arms again, the calmness of the waves and feeling the light, warm sun and breeze against her skin.

She felt Vegeta's hands tighten around her as he positioned her more comfortably in his arms. She smiled as she turned her head to look up at him. "Can we stay here forever?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Hmmmn," he grunted, brushing her cheek with his lips. "We still have a little time."

_**I can't leave you,** _

_**You can, you must.** _

"I can't go on."

"You can, and you will. You have _hope_ , don't give up on it," he said easily, confidently. "I will see you when this is all over and you find your way."

Bulma closed her eyes and leaned back into him contentedly, not wanting this moment to end. She must have dozed off for some time because she felt him shake her gently. "You must go now." He said softly, with a note of disappointment in his tone.

"No."

"Stubborn woman," he chuckled. "Be safe, my mate."

"No! Don't go! I _need_ you and I love you!" She cried, trying to grasp for him to keep him near to her but he was fading.

"And I you," he said tenderly. "But take more care, do not find yourself in such a state again."

"I don't know, if it results in me seeing you and spending time with you I may have to get myself severely injured more often," she joked.

"Not funny," he bristled. "Be careful."

"I'll try," she nodded, trying not to cry as she felt him beginning to leave her. "I love you!"

"I love you too, silly woman, do not fret. I am with you. You may not know it, you may not feel it, but I _am_ with you." He said and he sounded now like he was miles away. _**Be safe!**_

Bulma's eyes shot open and she felt water suctioning and swirling around herself and realized she was in a regeneration tank. She removed the oxygen mask covering her face once the water level had gone down to shoulder level and she looked around. In front of her was Dende and Doctor Gero. To her left, through the glass was Vegeta, still in a blissful slumber in his regeneration tank.

_What the hell had that been?_ She asked herself. Has it been real or had it been part of her heavily drug induced coma?

Gero tossed her a towel and scowled at her reproachfully. "Dry yourself off you whore, we have work to do."

"Excuse me?" She spat, glaring daggers at him. "But the last thing I remember was being raped by Jeyice and I stabbed him in the neck in self-defense."

"Right," Gero snorted. "And he stabbed you back and you nearly bled to death. If it hadn't been for the Namek, you'd be dead!"

Bulma looked at Dende and everything came back to her. "Is he dead?"

Dende nodded affirmatively, but did not speak.

_Oh god, I'm free!_ She thought to herself in elation not caring about the potential consequences of her actions in that moment. "How long was I in there for?"

"An entire day!" Gero ranted. "Now clean yourself off and get back into the lab!"

Bulma didn't say anything, just gave Vegeta a sparing glance and left.

She closed the door to her room and looked at the mess still on the floor. Jeyice was gone, but there was still blood _everywhere._ It looked like a gruesome crime scene and she could not tell how much of the blood was hers and how much was Jeyice's. Judging on the fact that he apparently had died, she assumed the majority of it had been his.

She picked up her knife on the floor, still gummy and covered in blood, and held it close. _Vegeta had been right,_ she told herself. She didn't need him to figure her way out of this. She had all the tools she needed. She had also overcome and gotten rid of the biggest obstacle holding her back. She had gotten rid of Jeyice. Even now, the event seemed blurry and surreal. She could barely remember the specifics of it. In a way, she was thankful the mess was still here. If it had been cleaned up, she'd have doubted that she'd actually gone through with it in the first place. This was _proof_. If she could kill someone, she could accomplish just about anything she set her mind to, she realized, feeling confidence radiating through her rather than guilt at having taken a life.

After taking the scene in for a long moment, she checked to make sure Jeyice's _gift_ was still there; it was. Placed on the coffee table where she'd left it. Quickly, she stashed it away in a capsule with her other hidden belongings before going into the bathroom and turning the shower on to warm up.

She looked at herself a long moment in the mirror. She swallowed hard as she slowly remembered what had happened with Jeyice and what she had dreamt while in the tank. Vegeta had said that maybe they had broken a new barrier with the bond. _**Vegeta?**_ She called out to him through their bond. Her stomach rolled and flipped and warmed instantly with hope and desire as she remembered their encounter. She wanted to thank him for his kind words and not discarding her.

She received no response.

As she still waited for the water to warm up, she removed her blood stained clothes and inspected her body. There was a long, mean looking red scar across her abdomen now and she wondered in dismay why the regeneration tank had not erased it completely? It was still very tender to the touch and looked as though it could split wide open if she wasn't careful. She wondered if Gero had only allowed her to remain in there long enough to make sure she was healed enough to be let out?

She noticed her hand was back to being mangled as well and she turned in the mirror and frowned as she saw the scars on her back were there and so was the bite mark Jeyice had made on her breast.

Bulma hopped into the shower; her stomach still fluttering in excitement every time she even thought Vegeta's name. She tried a few more times to get some kind of response from him, but she got nothing in return. She was becoming increasingly frustrated. What she had felt and experienced was far too amazing and powerful for it to have not happened at all or to have been a figment of her imagination. She brought a hand down to her center and was not shocked to find herself wet and turned on. She sucked in a deep breath as she could have sworn she heard or rather _felt_ Vegeta smirking at her. _Now was not the time,_ she told herself as she finished washing herself thoroughly.

_Hope_ he had kept saying. _Don't lose hope._ She kept telling herself, trying to remember every detail of what he had said to her. He had said it so many times that it seemed to be the only thing that had imprinted on her mind. She felt like he had been trying to tell her something and she had missed it. What had he said?

" _You know what you are doing, you do not need me to tell you what to do, and you never have. Just finish what you initially started and everything else will fall into place."_ That was it. He had mentioned that and the word _hope_ so many times. It couldn't be a coincidence that she had named her time machine _Hope_ , could it? She knew in her one sided conversations with him over the years that she had told him she called it _Hope._

Was that what he had been trying to tell her? That it wasn't a waste of time?

So be it, she told herself, exiting the shower and drying herself off. She needed to get back to work on her time machine for Vegeta in order to find their way out of here. It would be their key to escape, she was sure of that now.

No, it wouldn't change anything, but going back might help her to figure out how to get herself and her family out of this mess. If she could go back and talk to Bardock or even have access to his lab, she was _sure_ there would be something there to help her out with getting Vegeta out of the regeneration tank. God knew Dr. Gero wasn't going to help her out with that.

With new determination and vigor, Bulma got dressed in clean clothes and left her small bedroom with a bounce in her step she had not felt in years. They were going to get out of here!


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

Thanks for the reviews! Here we go! Onward and upward! I am very excited to share these next few chapters with you all… I've been working on them all simultaneously depending on what mood strikes me… So it shouldn't be too long between updates.

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 39** _

It had been a busy week following the demise of Jeyice.

Of course, she had been hauled into King Cold's throne room to discuss it a few hours after she had been let out of the regeneration tank. Fortunately for her, King Cold seemed to be more amused that she'd followed through on her threat of killing Jeyice than upset over losing one of his favorite generals. This further sent her into confusion and she decided she would _never_ understand these people. Trunks had been beaten horribly and punished for attempting to kill Jeyice. Here she'd succeeded and instead of a death penalty or punishment as she'd expected, King Cold had simply laughed at her as though she were his court jester. It somehow didn't seem fair to her.

The only negative impact her actions had had on her was now Cold had ordered the Android to keep exclusive and strict watch on her every move anytime she was not in the confines of her room. Her pockets, shoes and any item of clothing that could potentially conceal something like a knife or anything else that could possibly be used as a weapon needed to be checked to make sure she was not concealing anything.

Her room had been ransacked as well. Thankfully, she always had her time machine project, scouter, perception filters and anything useful to her put away in a capsule in the event a search of her quarters was ever done. The only trouble she'd been in was when Gero had discovered her stash of tea she had stolen from him over the last few years. Luckily for her, she still had some of it stashed away in one of her capsules so it was not all confiscated.

Since then, things had been relatively quiet that week, but she had kept herself busy with things in the lab and working on her time machine at night in her room. She hadn't been sure how to tell the boys about Jeyice, so she had not contacted them yet.

In the meantime, she had figured out how to configure her scouter to the time machine so that it could lock onto the coordinates of Vegeta-sei. It hadn't been as difficult as she'd thought; as there seemed to be some sort of system in place that worked very similar to the way a GPS had worked back on Earth. What she still wasn't sure on was how to actually travel back in time. From what she could determine, the machine was fast, but was it _light speed fast_? That was what she did not know. If she set the coordinates on to Vegeta-sei would it take her back there to that specific time, or would she just find herself stuck in the black void of black, empty space where it _used_ to be, stranded in deep space?

While the thought of that frightened her, she supposed she could always just return here or if there was enough fuel left, maybe she could make it onto another planet and contact the boys. Who knew, maybe she could find a way to get herself to Callisto and arrange a rescue for Vegeta? Either way, she supposed this was a good plan and would result in something good towards her eventual escape. But how would she get Vegeta out? She absolutely could _not_ leave him there.

In the event that she succeeded in her time travel plan, she had made a list of items she needed to bring back and questions she needed answers to. The last few days, however, she'd felt off. Actually, she'd felt off ever since she had come out of the regeneration tank. Her stab wound was still tender and sore to the touch and she'd felt lightheaded and feverish off and on. At first she had simply written it off as the side effects of the sedative used but after a week, she began to wonder if something else more serious was wrong with her.

She couldn't ask Dende to finish healing her. Gero was always around and had no tolerance for visiting and in the evenings she was mostly working alone until she was too tired to keep her eyes open any longer. She also assumed it was more to do with her working so hard instead of taking the time to rest and heal. She worked until she couldn't because when she slept she was usually plagued with nightmares about Jeyice. She did not feel an ounce of regret or remorse for killing him, but that didn't mean the act itself hadn't affected her negatively. She had dreams he had survived and came to her to finish her off in an act of vengeance for her attempt on his life. Sometimes she had dreams where he stabbed her even worse than what he had and she lay bleeding and dying while trying to hold her insides together. In every case, she would wake up in a cold sweat, with her adrenaline flowing and a deep searing pain in her abdomen, which of course made it seem all that much more real.

Today, feeling especially worse than usual, she was working on a mechanical project Gero had recently been obsessing over. It was another version of android, though this one was going to have real, live tissue cells on it and something more than artificial intelligence, according to Gero. Apparently he was engineering it after Vegeta and Frieza's genetics; a fairly frightening thought to her.

She felt light headed, nauseous and had the chills and shakes on and off. Something was definitely not alright. She hadn't even made an attempt to call the boys because she just didn't have the energy to answer the inevitable questions surrounding Jeyice.

"What is wrong with you?" Gero barked at her. "You've been dragging your heels all week."

"Well I could be wrong, but I think it might have something to do with someone slicing my insides wide open recently," she replied sarcastically.

"You're _fine,_ " he snorted unsympathetically.

"No, I don't think I am fine," she replied, glaring at him. "Can you not put me back in a tank? Something is still wrong."

"It is a waste of time and resources," he said dismissively. "You'll be fine. Now get back to work."

She sighed, as she swallowed down a wave of nausea. Dende made eye contact with her once and nodded subtly. He hadn't been sure if she was alright or not, so he had not gone to her to heal her. She had thanked him for saving her, but had given him a wide berth since the incident with Jeyice. He wasn't sure if it was because of the strict surveillance she was under of if she was embarrassed by the condition at which he had found her. Assuming it was a little bit of both, he gave her her space and assumed she was alright.

Bulma stood up and turned to leave the lab; she needed to get back to her room now or she was going to be sick everywhere.

"Where are you going?" Gero demanded, following her and cursing at her as she exited the lab but she did not hear him. Her only focus was how terrible she felt and her need to get to a bathroom or go to bed immediately.

The room began to spin and she suddenly felt a cold, hard surface on her very warm cheek and side before she passed out and felt nothing.

-0-0-0-

Bulma woke up in her room, still with intense pain in her abdomen, but noticed she felt slightly better than she did the last time she was awake in that she no longer felt nauseous or clammy.

It hurt immensely to sit up, but she did, slowly. Her abdomen was still obviously not healed up, she thought in annoyance. She lifted the bottom of her top to look and noticed that the wound still looked very fresh, but this time it was stitched up.

As she examined the wound, she tried to remember what had happened. The last she remembered, she had been working in the lab on Gero's new project and had felt terribly ill. Had her wound split open? She got up carefully, not wanting to hurt herself and realized she felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Her whole body ached all over.

Bulma used the washroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, pale and thin and her short hair was a terrible mess. She ran her fingers through it, smoothing it out as best she could before going back into her room to change into some fresh clothes before venturing out into the lab to find out what exactly had happened.

"You're awake," Gero said as she wandered into the lab.

"What happened?" she asked with a frown.

"You fainted and required surgery," he answered. "There were some _complications_ from your stab wound."

Bulma nodded in understanding. She'd suspected something else had been wrong and that he'd let her out prematurely. "Infection?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head watching her reaction carefully. "Miscarriage."

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked in shock.

"You were pregnant when you'd been stabbed," he informed her, content that she'd obviously had not known she had been pregnant to begin with. "I did not know. The regeneration tank did not have time to heal you and _it_."

"You didn't leave me in there long enough," she nodded, sitting down as she began to shake and felt her legs wanting to buckle. This was unbelievable! "Are you _sure_ I was pregnant?"

"Early stages, yes. That is why you weren't well."

"And everything, _now_ is fine?" she asked, unsure how to feel about the news that she had been pregnant and apparently lost it. She certainly did not want to be stuck raising a child from an unwanted relationship in this environment! However it was still the loss of a life and a shock as a whole to her.

"You're alive," he shrugged. "You will not be able to conceive again, though. I needed to do a hysterectomy. However that is a moot point anyway."

"I see," she said dumbly, feeling breathless and lightheaded as though she may faint. She felt ill again and dirty; like she had been violated all over again. He had operated on her and permanently _altered_ her without her permission? Where was the fairness or kindness in that? How could he just take that liberty without consulting with her first!

"This should not be news to you," he said unsympathetically. "I was lead to believe that you were barren after birthing your two sons."

Bulma swallowed and nodded. That's right, Vegeta had told Gero that when he had first arrived here so that it would not cross his mind to use her to make more children with him. The thought of being used as nothing more than a broodmare made her feel hot with anger and she was glad that Vegeta had had the foresight to convince him that it was not an option where she was concerned. Now, however she was faced with something else and she was not sure how to react or how to feel about it.

"Excuse me," she said blandly to him as she stumbled her way back to her room where she needed to be alone as she absorbed this new information. Maybe she was dreaming? Maybe she was still in the regeneration tank and this was an extension of the vivid dream she'd had?

She rushed to her bathroom and heaved painfully. She had nothing in her system to bring up, but she was beyond emotionally distressed at the moment. _Pregnant._ _Hysterectomy._ The words echoed over and over again through her mind like a hammer banging on the wall. She had been pregnant with Jeyice's child and hadn't even known it. She had been so conscientious about taking the contraceptive shot even when Jeyice had been gone for weeks or months on end because a pregnancy was the absolute _last_ thing she had wanted. Even now, there was a huge part of her that was relieved, she thought guiltily. Jeyice was gone, yes. But he had scarred her physically, emotionally and mentally. The last thing she needed was biological evidence in the form of a child that she would have to nurture and care for for the rest of her life, reminding her every time she looked at it of what had taken place here. She should be glad that Jeyice had stabbed her and inadvertently destroyed the life he had created; _especially_ since it had to have happened that morning she had spent the night at his place.

And yet something inside of her still grieved for that loss and she couldn't quite figure out why. If they made it out of here, it wasn't like she and Vegeta had ever planned on having more children. In fact, he had been adamant against it. This _should_ be a blessing, really. She'd avoided an unwanted pregnancy _and_ would never have to worry about birth control again.

Though try as hard as she could to rationalize it that way, she couldn't. She felt dirty and violated even _worse_ than when she had been with Jeyice. She got up and crawled to bed as she began to shake, sobbing silently in devastation at this new development.

She was ruined. She was changed. Forever changed and _mutilated._ And there was nothing she could do about it now. What was done, was done.

_What_ _would_ _Vegeta_ _think_ _of_ _it?_ She had let someone else use her and now she wasn't even useful as a woman to him anymore if he changed his mind about her not having any more children. _How can I be of any use to him now?_ She was physically weak but now inept as well.

She lay in bed, wide awake in absolute grief and shock she mulled this over. What was the point in anything anymore? Even _if_ they got out of here, she would never have a normal life again. She'd already suspected as much anyway, but now she was convinced of it. She was physically, mentally, emotionally and now _internally_ scarred from her time here.

_Do not lose hope._ Vegeta's words from her encounter with him echoed through her mind, making her feel somewhat better before she finally fell asleep.

Bulma woke up the next morning, still sore. _It wasn't a dream,_ she thought in dismay as she carefully got out of bed, showered, got ready for the day and went to meet Gero. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to ignore this and pretend to stomach working amicably with him; her hatred of that decrepit, old man was worse than what she'd felt for Jeyice even.

The mere sight of him made her stomach drop unpleasantly and she refused to make eye contact with him even.

"Are you finally ready to get down to business?" he asked coolly, barely looking up from his work. It looked like he was adding something to the structural schematic blueprints of the new android project.

"You should have _asked_ me," she said quietly, trying to contain her disgust with him and not fly off into a hysterical rage at him.

"Asked you what?"

"If it was alright with me for you to operate on and permanently _change_ me!"

"I saved your life. You were dying," he shrugged. "The toxicity levels in your system were so high, I needed to make a quick decision; so there was hardly time for something so trivial for something which I thought was a non-issue to begin with."

"Still!" she shouted at him. "Apparently I was _fine_! You've forever taken that away from me, can't you see!"

"A waste," he nodded in agreement. "As I could have gotten at least _two_ Saiyan hybrids from you during your time here if I had known."

_Thank god,_ she thought to herself. Vegeta had been correct in his suspicions at what lengths Gero would have gone for his research.

"You are completely missing the point here," Gero continued. "Pregnant or not, you were not in the regeneration tank long enough for you internal organs to heal sufficiently-"

"Whose fault is that?" she asked him angrily, nearly to the point of tears.

"That's beside the point," he replied, unbothered by her upset and missing her point entirely. "You should have had surgical intervention in the first place and as such, the outcome would have been the same. You were in a near fatal condition if I had not acted quickly and so I did what was necessary. Would you prefer I left rotting organs or fetus inside you to poison you to death, not to mention putting a stop the internal bleeding that was happening? I think a little gratitude is in order here."

"Gratitude?" she cried.

"I see, I should have not told you then," he said. "You know, I look at you as kin. I knew your father well many years ago. We were colleagues before he let others in the community poison his mind against me. I merely saved your life out of courtesy to him and the professional relationship we once had. It would have been a great loss to lose you."

Why didn't it feel that way to her? She was finding it exceedingly difficult to feel anything other than resentment towards this man. Gratitude was definitely not what she was feeling at the moment and suspected it would be a very long time before she felt that towards him, if ever.

"You are aware that this all could have been avoided," he went on as he went back to his work. "If you had such a desperate need for your urges, I could have built a companion for you. I still could, if you like. I could even make him in Vegeta's image if you wish."

Bulma shot him a disgusted look. "Please don't," she moaned. The thought of it making her sick.

"Are you sure? Because it would not take me long, in fact-"

"No!" she said firmly. "I wasn't with Jeyice because I needed to get laid, are you _kidding_ me!"

"Well, you were fucking him for some time, were you not?"

"So I could see my kids, you idiot!" she exclaimed. "Are you not aware of anything that goes on around here outside your ridiculous projects? Not to mention it's nice to know you carry such a low opinion of me that I would just be open to something like that when my husband is in here fighting for his life."

"I wasn't aware, no," he shrugged. "In any case, it is all over and done with. My advice is to move on, you are on the mend and will be just fine; do not dwell on things you cannot change. We have work to do."

Bulma took a deep breath and counted to ten before walking up to her station where she kept her things. This new devastation that had just been forced on her would take some time for her to work through. In all honestly, she was glad to have a project to focus on. She would grieve when she was out of here. She spared Vegeta a glance for a moment as she mechanically brought out her things. Guilt consumed her as she looked at him. How was he going to react to all of this?

He had been loving and supportive when she'd spoken to him through the bond while in the regeneration tank. Would he still feel that way once he knew how long she had allowed her arrangement with Jeyice to go on for and that now she was incapable of bearing children? She still didn't know how he was going to handle finding out the truth about his father's demise. Fortunately, everyone involved with that was dead, so she wouldn't have to worry about that coming out; she just hoped the guilt behind it wouldn't eat her alive along with everything else that had happened that he did not know about.

She shook her head to herself, not wanting to bother talking with Gero any more than she absolutely had to about this; she was obviously not going to get any sympathy or compassion from him, not that she was shocked.

As she began to go through her things, refreshing her memory on what she had been doing previously, she remembered part of her plan. She had wanted to get an original schematic and design for the current androids. Her hope being that she could make a copy of their function and design and give it to Bardock or Vegeta if her machine did actually work the way she'd hoped. If she could now find a weakness to them, then she could give them a heads up before going into this battle.

"Can I trouble you for the original design of the Androids?" she asked Gero.

"What need do you have for that?" Gero asked, not looking up from his work.

"Well, you are trying to improve on them, correct?" she asked. "If I could compare the old design with the new design, maybe I can find a way to beef it up. You want these ones to be perfect, correct?"

"The already are," Gero replied arrogantly.

"Hmm, are you sure? You didn't miss anything? From what I am assuming, their only weakness is in their limbs," Bulma said. "Look at him," she said, pointing to the Android in the lab. "The joints here are delicate and could easily be torn apart if someone like Vegeta had a chance to get close enough and figure that out. From what I recall, Vegeta told me through the bond that they had destroyed many of your androids, except there were more of them than soldiers Vegeta had brought with him. Why not look back at that and find a way to improve them? I can help. Let me look over the plans and see if I can maybe find some ways to make a few adjustments and improvements. That is, after all why I am here, is it not?"

Gero regarded her suspiciously for a moment. She was right, however up until now she had not shown any interest or desire in this project. "Why the sudden interest? Getting you to cooperate with me has been like pulling teeth,"

Bulma shrugged. "I have nothing better to do with my time and you have taken my last piece of _everything_ away from me just now. I need a distraction."

"Oh quit being so _over dramatic_ ," he snorted. "I'll leave you to die next time, would you like that?"

"My point is, I have nothing better to do, I may as well put my all into this," she sighed, ignoring him. He didn't get it, and he never would. Besides, it was _half_ true. She needed something to keep her mind occupied or she was certain she would lose it at any point now. If she could get as much information on the androids Vegeta had faced and lost to, then she could hopefully share it with his past self and give him some sort of advantage. "Maybe a fresh set of eyes looking at your work may be able to see something you don't is all; I'm not trying to criticize or imply that they aren't already miraculous."

"Hmm," he grunted, seemingly considering it. "Very well, you do have a point there, however they are already perfect and there are no design flaws despite what you may think. If on the off chance you can find something to improve on, I will take it into consideration."

"I'm sure there's nothing to fix, just trying to be helpful," she agreed as he got up and unlocked a filing cabinet that contained all of his careful research and plans.

"Here," he said, slapping down a binder she estimated was almost four inches thick and full of pages. "It may take you a while, but this is _everything_ on the Androids."

"Wow," she said in awe. She hadn't had any idea that it would be _that_ much information. "Can I start reading and going through it all now?"

"Fine," he agreed after a minute. "I suppose there is no point in you working further on your side until you have reviewed everything. You may take the manual and go through it at your leisure."

"Can I take notes?" she asked hopefully.

"Certainly," he nodded. "I look forward to seeing your notes and what you would make for revisions, actually. Together we can potentially create something great, _if_ you happen to be able to contribute anything worthwhile that I have not already considered."

"I'll make as many notes as I can," Bulma said sincerely, thrilled that she had an excuse to go through everything and make notes and not have to go through great lengths to hide her true intentions. "I'll be in my room if you need me,"

Gero waved his hand once in dismissal as he went back to his desk to go back to his work.

Bulma grabbed her current notes on the new android she already had, two blank notebooks, a pen and the large binder before heading off into her room. Dende made brief eye contact with her and she could tell he was dying to know what she was up to. She discretely winked at him as she passed him. It had been so long since they'd been able to have a conversation that she hoped he knew she hadn't given up on any of her plans.

She closed her bedroom door and began brewing herself some warm water to make a warm drink. Most of her good stuff was gone, but she still had some of Gero's tea that had not been discovered to mix up for a warm, comforting drink when she felt like it. As she waited for the water to boil, she grabbed her pillow and blanket and set them down against her small couch in her living room.

Drink made, she set down all her work onto the coffee table, sat on the floor, her pillow propped up against the couch, and blanket around her shoulders. She pulled the table close to her and opened up the thick binder.

Dr. Gero's slanted, neat calligraphy handwriting was always easy to read, she thought thankfully. Most Doctor's had horrible writing. Not Gero. It was so neat and defined, it almost looked like cursive text that had been printed or typewritten.

Even his diagrams and the notes around them were meticulous and perfect. It was going to be so easy for her to take notes and information from this to share with Bardock or Vegeta that she wasn't sure where to even start.

As she studied them, she noted that the earlier diagrams were done mostly in the likeness of a black haired boy and blonde haired girl, labelled only as _Seventeen_ and _Eighteen,_ that both looked vaguely familiar to her as she flipped through everything, glancing briefly first through it all to get a sense of everything before hunkering down to begin on her own research and notes. It wasn't until the middle of the binder that the diagram of the _Android_ had evolved in to the resemblance of Frieza, which was that they looked like now.

She frowned as she went back to look at one of the earlier prototypes of the boy and girl and studied their faces for a long moment. It dawned on her that she recognized them, but could not place them or figure out _where_ she knew them from and wondered if that meant he had started on this insane android project years ago even before their home had been destroyed? It wouldn't surprise her, she thought with a shrug and went back to where she'd left off.

It had taken her a few hours to casually flip through the large binder cover to cover. She hadn't made any notes as of yet; she only wanted to familiarize herself with the material first. She had made a few book marks of things that sparked her immediate interest so that she could return to them quickly later on. From what she had determined, they operated together and were connected on a central unit. Same power source, same connection, same everything.

_There's a flaw_ , she thought to herself. _There's a major flaw._

If one android was down, then most likely _all_ of them would be down. _Or not,_ she corrected herself as she realized that obviously Vegeta and his crew taking them out as they were able hadn't stopped them. However, if they were all from the same power source, if she could figure out _where_ that was and _how_ it worked, if that was compromised, then that would affect them. That was a huge potential weakness. Even if the power source could not be rigged, was there a possibility that one could upload a viral infection into the main source and ruin them? It wasn't a guarantee that it was even remotely possible, but it was _something_ she could look deeper into _._

The first thing Bulma did was trace one of the Frieza-inspired android diagrams. She labelled it using several of the other diagrams that were there, filling the page with as many notes as possible. Next, she began to dig into the specifics of the androids and how they worked. Apparently they could absorb energy sources from other, live individuals. _How terrifying,_ she thought to herself, making note to make sure to never let the Android in the lab to ever touch her. She couldn't recall if it ever had or not, but she would watch for that. It made sense as to why Vegeta had been so tired and she assumed that was how he had been taken down. Had one of them gotten a hold on him and drained him and the other Saiyans?

Bulma shook her head. They had gone into this completely unprepared and unknowing about what they were facing. She'd _known_ that they were walking into a mess. However even if Vegeta and his men had stayed behind a month, or six months to prepare better for this, it would have more than likely not made any difference from the look of it.

"Well, I'll give them _every_ scrap of information I can on these things and at least they will know what it is they are facing this time," she sighed to herself. She stifled a yawn and realized that it had to be extremely late by now.

She got up and crawled into bed without changing her clothes and fell asleep almost immediately. Today had been both a very productive and emotional day.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble were on their way back from the short mission they had been sent on. They really hadn't had to get their hands dirty this time. It had been more of a threat mission in order to scare the inhabitants to catch up on their late payments. So they had been allowed to blow up a few buildings and important land structures in order to prove their point.

Tarble had called Bulma and had spoken with her for the first time since they had left four weeks ago. Word had spread about Jeyice. She had said she had wanted to wait until they had returned to tell them herself what had happened, but of course word had spread around the units of it already and it was all everyone on their ship had been talking about.

The majority of them seemed to find it amusing that Jeyice had met his end at the hands of one of his many female conquests and not just _any_ female, but Vegeta's female. No one seemed to be grieving the loss.

Both Tarble and Trunks had felt mixed emotions about it. On one hand, they had known that he had been abusing their mother for the last few years in order for her to be allowed to see them and so they had felt some measure of betrayal from him in knowing he had done that and they had been oblivious to it the entire time. Extreme guilt consumed them over it. On the other hand, Jeyice had practically raised them. He was who they had looked up to for so long and now he was gone. They supposed they still had Recoome, but it was still different. He was more of the fun uncle who let them do whatever they wanted and they had come to know and love h for that, not a father figure as Jeyice had been for so long.

Tarble had felt relief over Jeyice's death, but Trunks seemed to be angry over it. He had wanted to be the one to destroy him. Their entire trip, he had been set on trying to figure out a way the next time they were sent on a mission with him until they had heard the news of it. The idea of it seemed to have consumed him to the point that it frightened Tarble.

He didn't quite understand it, but Trunks barely wanted to speak with their mother whenever they did get in touch with her on the scouter. Trunks had barely spoken a few words to their mother before turning her over to Tarble to speak with.

After Tarble had spoken with her, he and Trunks had gotten into a horrible argument over it.

"Why are you angry with mom?" he had asked him. "She's okay and will be okay. There's no Jeyice anymore so everything will be fine. Why are you angry with her?"

"I'm not," Trunks sighed as he began a regimen of squats. Whenever he was angry or stressed out, he would resort to training instead of discussing it.

"Then why won't you talk to her?" Tarble demanded. "She hasn't said, but I know she's upset that you don't want to talk to her."

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged. "I'll talk to her when we get back."

"Well maybe tell her that so she doesn't think you're mad at her. You're acting like you are."

"I am mad, just not at her," he said.

"So then why won't you talk to her?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about," he said.

"But there is," he insisted. "You're upsetting her for no reason if you're not mad at her."

"Look, I wasn't able to protect her from Jeyice, neither of us were. I don't get how you don't see that and it doesn't bother you at all. I tried to help and couldn't and then she had to kill him."

"Isn't that awesome though that mom took him out?" Tarble asked with a frown. "It is kind of bad ass if you think about it. You should be proud of her."

"She shouldn't have had to!" Trunks said in frustration. "She couldn't wait for us to take care of him? It should have been us to deal with, not her."

"Maybe something happened though. Like maybe he attacked her and she killed him," he suggested. "You weren't there, but she kind of lost her shit at King Cold after we found her that morning and you attacked him. She warned him that if Jeyice tried to come near her again, she'd kill him and King Cold laughed at her, but she seemed pretty serious to me."

"All the same, it was our responsibility to take care of it, not hers." Trunks insisted. He was glad that Jeyice was gone for good, but he felt that his mother shouldn't have had to do that. It bothered him and it made him feel resentment towards himself, Jeyice and oddly enough towards her for some reason. Tarble was right, they should have been proud of her for doing it, but he wasn't. It just upset him all the more just thinking about it.

"Well what's done is done," Tarble shrugged. "Now stop being upset with her and you be the one to call tomorrow."

"I don't want to," he insisted. "You want to talk to her so bad, you call her."

Tarble sighed in annoyance at him and after that, Trunks wouldn't speak to him about it. Tarble hadn't even told him yet of the plans he and Bulma had begun making for an escape before they had left for this mission. He hadn't asked her about anything during their call today, just in case the line wasn't secure, but she had told him she had been busy now that she said she was feeling better. She hadn't told him any specifics, but he knew that she had been injured from her fight with Jeyice. That much he knew.

He decided the best thing to do was let their mother tell Trunks about the plan when it was more concrete and they actually needed his help. Until then he was so bitter, he seemed to think it was nothing more than talk and no real plans.

It felt weird to Tarble that they were actually planning an escape because the base and odd mission was all he knew, but he would help in any way he could so that they could have a different way of life other than _this._ He just hoped it happened soon.

-0-0-0-

After four weeks of research and making notes on the androids and making finishing touches on her time machine, Bulma decided that it was time to test it out. She was feeling better and the boys weren't due back for another three weeks, so she figured now was as good a time as any to test out her machine with a trip. If anything went wrong, she had three weeks to sort it out and be back before they returned.

She had written Trunks and Tarble a letter in the event she was not back or never made it back so that they knew what had happened and what she had been trying to accomplish. She'd found a way to discreetly give it to Dende with the understanding that if anything went wrong, he was to give it to the boys and talk to Tarble about the escape plans they had started.

Bulma changed into a pair of left over leggings that she still had, which were depressingly loose on her now, and a simple white t-shirt. She brushed her short hair so that it looked decent; it was still too short to style and she was impatiently waiting for it to grow out a little so that she could give it a little bit of shape so it did not look quite so horrid.

Dressed and ready, she finally went to retrieve the perception filter. She had taken the expensive necklace Jeyice had given her and removed the pink stones, replacing it with one of the green perception stones so that she could wear it on herself as a pendant.

She capsuled anything that looked suspicious in the event that someone came into her room while she was gone and hid it in her shampoo bottle; the letter she had given Dende explained where she had hidden it, as all her notes on the time machine and the perception filters were contained in it along with the capsule holding her ship and funds.

Everything the boys and Dende needed to help get them out was there if she somehow got lost and did not return.

_What if I can't get back?_ She thought in panic as she sat in the machine, locked the air-tight dome-shaped roof, turned the oxygen on and powered it up. _Then what? What will Trunks and Tarble do? What about Vegeta if he wakes up? Will he be able to find me if I'm years in the past?_

It was a gamble. If it weren't for the boys, she wouldn't care all that much if something bad happened to her like getting stuck in a void or not being able to come back at all. Worst case scenario, she figured she could always assassinate herself and fill in those shoes and hope Vegeta never noticed, she thought with a laugh even though she knew she would never be able to carry that option out.

In the weeks leading up to her trip, she had thought a lot about dates and when the best time to aim for was. It was a lot more difficult than she had thought, being that the galactic calendar was different than what an _Earth_ calendar was. It seemed to her that the calendar everyone else followed still had twelve months, but those months were longer than the typical thirty or thirty one day calendar that had been used on Earth. The months were all forty five days long, which, to her horror, meant that she had been here _longer_ than she'd thought.

Bulma had estimated on her own all this time that she had been here a total of four years at this point, give or take. If she took into the account an extra fifteen days added to each month, that meant that one year here, was one and a half years of Earth time so that meant she'd actually been here _six_ years at least, rather than four! It had taken a few days for her mind to wrap around that.

In any case, she had been able to sift through the calendar on her scouter to the dates before Vegeta-sei had been destroyed and counted back the weeks to where she estimated the banquet had to have taken place, a few days after their arrival. _That_ was when she needed to go back and speak to Vegeta, she decided. It was late enough that he had already been having doubts and early enough for him to prepare and change his course. She hoped.

She entered the date she had guesstimated, hoping she had remembered the events well enough as they had happened that she was correct on it. "Here goes nothing," she said out loud as she pressed the acceleration button.

Before she could even think, she felt a harsh jolt; her head was thrown back against the seat and she was transported to a different part of King Cold's base for a split second, then another, then she was outside, then in the dark. Each jump was so fast and jolted her with such force, she felt as though she may have whiplash once she reached her destination, wherever that may be. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping for the best now that she'd started this mission and within a few minutes it stopped.

Bulma opened one eye cautiously and then the other in amazement as she was greeted with the familiar warmth and orange sky she knew could _only_ be Vegeta-sei. "Oh my god," she whispered in awe as she looked around and realized the machine had brought her to a wooded area, not far from the palace. It was a little closer than she'd wanted to be brought, but at least it was secluded.

Thankfully there seemed to be no one around. She looked at the fuel level and noted that it had used less than she had anticipated so she _should_ be able to make it back home, she thought in relief before she saved the date and coordinates of her room on King Cold's base, carefully hopped out of her machine and capsuled it, stashing it away in her pocket.

Feeling confident that she would not be seen by anyone because of her perception filter, she walked towards the palace.

Heart pounding, she walked right passed the two guards, unnoticed, and waited a few minutes. Surely someone would enter or exit soon; it seemed that they could not see her, but she was not confident enough to open the doors on her own, even a little, to get in.

She took several deep breaths as she waited, looking around. This was definitely Vegta-sei. The feel of the warm sun on her skin was such a welcomed relief after living in such cold, bland conditions for so long, but she hoped someone would come soon because she hadn't thought to bring sun screen.

As she leaned against one of the large pillars, soaking up the vitamin D she had missed for so long, she was startled as she heard the massive doors open. Quickly, she darted inside the moment two, large Saiyans were far enough from the doors that she wouldn't accidentally bump into them and darted inside the palace, undetected.

As she remembered, it was somewhat busy inside with soldiers and palace officials walking around the day of the banquet, all making preparations so that it would be perfect. _This has to be the right day,_ she thought confidently to herself and walked down one of the halls, trying to remember her way to the lab. First order of business on her list was to talk to Bardock.

Bulma leisurely strolled through the palace, taking extra care to make sure she wasn't in anyone's way or doing anything to draw attention to herself. As she turned down one hall, she caught the distinct sight of Vegeta, walking brusquely towards her.

There he was.

Her breath caught in her lungs and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him as he walked alone down the hall.

She had to remind herself to not run up to him and throw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his hips and hang on to him as tightly and as long as possible, bombarding him with everything she needed to tell him.

He looked preoccupied and deep in thought and she wondered where he was going at such a brisk pace; he definitely looked like he was on a mission.

She held her breath as he approached and forced herself to stand stock still, slightly hidden behind a large statue in the hall.

He continued with his brisk pace as he walked right past her before stopping abruptly and standing there a moment. He whirled around and looked suspiciously at the statue.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!_ She chanted to herself. She couldn't talk to him. Not yet!

Vegeta took a couple of unsure steps towards the statue and looked seemingly straight at her. She was sure to not move a muscle, blink, breathe or even _think._ If she could have made her heart stop pounding so hard, she would have because she was paranoid he might be able to hear it.

She felt her stomach flip as she looked right back at him; she couldn't have breathed even if she'd wanted to. He simply took her breath away, he was so handsome. His dark eyes flashing in careful observation, not missing anything, yet still not actually _seeing_ her.

Vegeta frowned as he took in a deep breath and continued to look at her for another moment, his features a mixture of annoyance and confusion and then as abruptly as he had stopped he turned heel and walked away, continuing towards whatever his original destination had been.

Bulma exhaled in relief a moment later. So the perception filter worked _extremely well_ , obviously. She wondered what that was about; could he smell her or was he simply able to sense her? Furthermore she wondered if it was because of the bond or just her familiar energy signature. If it was the bond, she decided she'd better not think too loud either.

She saw him turn to the left at the end of the hall and her curiosity was peaked. If he had gone to the right, that would have taken him towards the training centre. She wasn't sure where left would take him; there were so many parts of the palace she hadn't had the opportunity to see, she thought sadly.

She quietly crept down the hall as quickly as she could, without making noise. If Vegeta was able to smell and possibly sense her, he'd definitely be able to hear her if she bumped into something. She leaned against the wall as she neared the corner and peaked around it, hoping she hadn't dawdled too long and missed him altogether. She wanted to know where he was going and if the opportunity was right and she drummed up enough courage, maybe talk to him.

He was still in sight. She removed her shoes so she was only in her socks and booked it quietly and quickly down the hall so she could catch up with him.

Just as she was nearing closer to him, he turned down a hall to the right and opened a glass door. Fortunately, she was close enough to him that she was able to quickly catch the door and slip through silently and discreetly.

Bulma was shocked by what she saw in the bright, spacious room: display after display of the most extravagant and exquisite jewellery she had ever seen, which was saying something being that her mother had been a huge jewellery person. These all made her mother's most cherished pieces look like mere cheap costume jewellery.

She watched as Vegeta strolled leisurely, looking at the different pieces of jewellery. Bulma realized that this was the gallery! If today was the day of the banquet, he was choosing her accessories!

"What are you looking for, my Prince?" an elderly kindly-looking Saiyan woman behind the counter asked Vegeta.

"Hmmm," he grunted, looking at the vast array of jewellery. "There is a banquet to be held this evening in honour of my return. I brought back with me my mate. This will be our first appearance together and I would like to give her something worthy of her status as _Princess._ " He said awkwardly.

"I see," she nodded. "So it is true then, you did take a mate of your choosing. I heard she was that stunning foreign girl you had been fond of from before."

"That would be her," Vegeta smirked, and Bulma noticed he was blushing slightly.

"Well what did you have in mind then, my prince? Do you know what she is wearing?" the gallery keeper asked. "I have a variety of colours and settings for you to choose from. I have hundreds of types of gems and stones as well."

Vegeta didn't reply for a moment, he was looking at the items in the glass counter display case. "Something blue," he said. "Blue and silver with diamonds, but not too over the top. She prefers simple designs as opposed to extravagant."

"Alright," she nodded, walking to another display case and taking out several boxes. "These are new," she said, placing them onto the counter. "I haven't brought them out yet, they are prototypes though. I can fit them with any stone you'd like within a few hours."

She opened up two of the boxes and placed them in front of Vegeta to inspect.

In her giddiness and nostalgic excitement, Bulma decided to be brave and take a peek herself. In one box there was a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet with five strands of modest-sized diamonds. It was stunning! The second box had another bracelet with chunkier stones that reminded her of opals. It was very pretty, but she didn't care for it.

The attendant placed a few other boxes out in front of Vegeta as he looked at them all carefully, ruling out a few of them, like the chunky opal bracelet, almost immediately.

He finally came to a delicate wreath necklace with the simple earrings. They were set with pink and red stones and crystal. It was stunning even in those colours, Bulma thought to herself.

She smiled as he closed four boxes from his choices upon seeing the delicate floral piece. Keeping only that and the tennis bracelet out as possibilities.

"Can you make this blue?" he asked the shop attendant, pointing to the wreath.

"Absolutely!" she nodded. "I can have it done in just a few hours. So this wreath, the earrings and the bracelet then?"

Vegeta nodded, looking carefully at the tennis bracelet as though unsure of his choice. Bulma couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at him. Why was he so unsure of his choice? She was certain that there wasn't a single girl in the entire universe who wouldn't be tickled pink over getting a tennis bracelet!

"Do you have a matching piece to go with the necklace?" he asked.

"Hmmm, I believe I do, actually," she replied, going to the back of the gallery. "Ah, that's right! It is right over here,"

She beckoned for Vegeta to come to another area of the gallery he hadn't looked in yet. "Now this bracelet came a few months ago," the attendant said. "I completely forgot about it! I feel it matched perfectly with this tiara. It was formerly owned by your mother."

Vegeta looked at the beautiful tiara wreath. "I remember," he said quietly.

"Yes, I remember you picking it out for her too. You were just a youth." She said proudly.

Vegeta nodded solemnly as he carefully picked it up and examined it. He placed it back down carefully where it had been displayed after a moment and looked at a few of the other pieces surrounding it. "A lot of these were my mother's. Why are they here?"

"Right, they were," the elderly attendant nodded nervously. "Well, you see, when your father re-mated with the current queen, she donated nearly everything he had ever gifted to your mother and chose her own collections of jewellery."

Vegeta shook his head and Bulma had to resist the urge to go to him and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. She could tell he was troubled over this news and she remembered that he had told her about his mother's jewellery being donated. She had known at the time that he wasn't impressed but at the moment he'd told her, he hadn't seemed overly grieved over it.

"If I may, my prince, I don't blame the poor girl for doing that. Everyone knew how deeply your father felt for your mother. I'm sure she did not want to wear gifts your father had given to your mother."

Vegeta didn't reply for a few moments as he looked at many of his mother's former jewellery collection and Bulma wondered if there were any other pieces in there that were sentimental to him. "And all of her jewellery is for sale for anyone else who might want to buy it?"

"Most of it, yes," she stammered. "I have a few absolutely exquisite pieces that I have for display purposes only. However for you, I would make the exception if you wanted to pass them down to your own mate one day."

"Hmmm," he nodded. "I will keep that in mind, but for now I will take this tiara and this looks like the matching bracelet to the necklace I've already chosen?"

"Very well! Yes, it is," she said carefully taking everything out of the display case for him to look at again.

"I will take this bracelet instead of the other," he said, handing both pieces back to her. "Leave the tiara as is, but I want matching stones in the settings of the necklace and bracelet in shades of dark blue and with crystal accents."

"I will make it a priority, my prince!" she said eagerly. "Come back in a few hours and be sure to bring your mate with you one of these days. I am sure she would love to choose something for herself one day."

Vegeta smirked. "I'll be sure to do that,"

Bulma smiled as she watched him leave to train, presumably. She herself had a few things to do and headed in the direction of the lab. If tonight was the banquet, she had lots of time to do everything she needed and where she needed to go would be deserted and empty later on so there was no risk of anyone accidentally seeing her before she wanted to be seen.

She decided that paying Bardock a visit first would still be the best strategy. He would hopefully believe her and be able to give her some sense of direction as to what the best approach regarding Vegeta's containment in the regeneration tank was.

A sense of familiarity and safety and something that screamed _home_ enveloped her and instantly her resolve that she had made the right decision in coming here calmed her from her emotional state that had been fluctuating up and down like a roller coaster since she'd arrived.

Shockingly, Bardock was not around she realized in disappointment. In any case, she pulled out her _shopping list_ and stole two scouter prototypes and a few things to help with upgrading them to something closer to what the boys had.

Bulma went to Bardock's extensive library and began perusing through all the books. There were so many she'd liked to have borrowed but she knew in all likelihood, she would never take another time travel trip and return them to him. _However if this place is going to be destroyed in a few months, what's the harm? Better in my hands than being wasted,_ she shrugged before shaking her head at herself at those morbid thoughts. _That's what you are here for! To prevent that from happening!_

She finally found what she had been looking for. Books on the regeneration tanks. There were three large, thick books that reminded her of some of her school text books; owner's manuals, she assumed. She picked them up and brought them to the large table. The first was more of how to build a regeneration tank from scratch; she set it aside and decided by default that one was coming with her. The second was old and unfortunately written in a language she did not understand. It was a pity because it looked like it was full of useful information. There were diagrams and everything, though so did the first one she had taken on building them from scratch.

The third book was about the same as the other two but had an entire section devoted to the formulas that went into the liquid. Of course, most of them were synthetic agents that she had no clue as to what they were, but she was sure she could figure it out or ask Dende.

She got up to head back to the bookshelf in hopes of finding a chemistry book or something that would give her some information on how to make these chemical agents, what was in them and what the long term possible side effects of someone being on them would be. She remembered for herself she had been dizzy and lightheaded for a few days afterwards but she wasn't sure if that was from the drugs or because she had still been recovering from blood loss and other injuries.

She was so absorbed in her search that she did not hear someone entering the lab.

"Come _on_ ," she grunted to herself out loud. There _had_ to be a book related to the chemistry behind the regeneration tank fluid.

"I'm sorry, can I assist you in finding something? These premises are restricted." A familiar voice came from behind her.

_Shit!_ She thought to herself as she slowly turned around. She should have been more careful. This person had heard her speaking so the perception filter's effect would now not work on them since they knew she was there.

Bulma looked up and not surprised, found herself face to face with Bardock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now... I'm super excited about this time travel arc...! You have no idea! The next chapter shouldn't be too long off since it's more than half written. Now predictions… Is Bardock going to believe she is who she says she is? How do you think Vegeta is going to react when she confronts him?
> 
> Also.. I'm SO NOT a science/physics person… or a math person… I've done tons of reading up on time travel theories and such in preparation for this and to be honest, none of it makes sense to me and just gives me a headache. So rather than trying to come up with something plausible that may be littered in tons plot holes because I'm not smart enough, I'm just keeping it really, really simple. No theories or in depth explanations. After all in DBZ, there was no explanation of how Trunks' time machine worked, it just did. Good enough. I don't have the mind for such things so please forgive my vagueness on that aspect of all of this. I hope that doesn't take away from the rest of the story or disappoint anyone. I'm more focused on how the event will impact Bulma personally than the logistics of time travel.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this and I'll try to get the next one out asap! I promise from this point on, nothing worse will happen to Bulma. ;)


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I am sooooo glad you guys are excited about this side storyline as I am! I've had so much fun with it and have been dying to share it with you all since I wrote it out forever ago!  
> I won't keep you with a long author's note, just want to thank you all for sticking with this story and being supportive through this rollercoaster ride. These few chapters have been my most favorite chapters and plotline to write for this story at this point. It feels like forever ago since I thought of doing it and I cannot only believe that I'm where I can finally share it, but that it took so long to get here!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

 

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 40** _

Bardock looked at her with a slight frown mixed with curiosity, confusion and disbelief at the woman in front of him going through his extensive library. "Bulma?"

"Bardock," she replied with a nod and immediately was overcome by the mere sight of him. "It's me, but not me,"

Bardock shook his head and frowned deeper at her. The Bulma he knew had long, blue hair, was always well dressed and did not look malnourished. This girl looked like Bulma, only not, however her energy signature was exactly the same.

"It's me, I swear," she pleaded as her voice began to waver, refraining from throwing herself at him and hugging him and apologizing to him for what had happened to him in her timeline. She hadn't realized how much she'd truly missed him until now. "This is going to sound insane, but I traveled here from the future, to warn everyone and get some information to help me get us out of a very bad situation. Oh, Bardock, you have to believe me!"

Bardock narrowed his eyes at her cautiously. "Traveled here from the future, as in you traveled back in time?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I can show you my machine," she offered, pulling out her capsule to show him, desperately hoping he would believe her and not call the guards to escort her out of here without giving her a chance.

He looked at the small, familiar cylindrical object in her hand and nodded. Bulma was the only person on Vegeta-sei, apart from himself, who utilized capsule technology. He had presented it to King Vegeta many times and had spoken of their innovativeness and practicality, but he had not given the approval for them to be put into circulation or mass produced. Bardock had always suspected that it was solely because it had been _Bulma's_ project and anything to do with her, the king simply detested.

Bulma decapsulized her time machine onto the floor.

Bardock looked at her and it with curious fascination. "You travelled back in time to _here_ in _this_?" he asked in wonder, looking at the odd machine with interest.

"Yes," she nodded. "It took me a couple of years to put it all together and figure out how to do it; I'm actually still not entirely sure _how_ I did it, but I did. Here I am."

"Remarkable," he commented, peering inside. "You used a scouter?"

"Yes," she said. "In my time, Vegeta-sei is gone, so I needed it to lock on to the exact coordinates of where it _was_ located. I added in today's date and the machine itself moves rapidly and quickly enough that I was able to move through time not just space, thankfully, or I would have ended up stranded and floating around in outer space where Vegeta-sei _used_ to be."

Bardock paused from looking at the miraculous machine that he not only had no doubt was authentic, but he was also sure its occupant definitely was who she claimed to be. Who else would have been able to pull something like this off? No one that he knew of, aside from Bulma.

"What do you mean Vegeta-sei is gone?" he asked.

"It's gone," she said sadly, shrugging and shaking her head and unable to say anymore. She'd mentally prepared for _months_ , carrying on imaginary conversations with herself and how she would explain it all but now that she was faced with it, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. "I'm sorry," she cried.

Bardock watched her awkwardly, unsure of how to console the emotional girl. The Bulma he knew was rarely emotional like this but he could tell her distress and sadness was genuine. "Have a seat," he offered, gesturing to the table in his lab only noticing now the books and scouters that were there. Apparently she was here for something specific.

He went to the door, ensuring it was closed and locked it before coming back to Bulma, who had capsulized her machine and was now seated at the table looking a little bit more composed than she was a moment ago.

"I believe you and you are safe here," he said quietly, taking a seat across from her. "No one will come in, the door is locked. Have you spoken with Vegeta?"

"No," she shook her head. "I-I saw him in the hall on my way here and I probably could have, but I froze. My plan was to talk to him later on in the evening after the banquet because if everything happens the way it did before, he will go for a walk on his own before turning in for the night. I thought it was better to get a few things that I need and speak to you first since you will be home helping Penelope watch both Trunks and Goten instead of coming out."

"You're right, we are watching the boys this evening. Alright," he nodded in acceptance. "How can I help you? Can you tell me what happened?"

"I don't even know where to start," she sighed, trying to keep herself together, running her hands through her short hair before folding them together and leaning forward on the table. She needed to get this out. "This mission or _war_ Vegeta is being sent on is a mistake. He's being set up by his father and King Cold. He's going to lose and be captured. I'm going to be taken with Trunks as well and sent to King Cold's base and as soon as they have me, they will destroy this planet. All of it. I came back here to warn everyone, you and Vegeta more specifically, and to acquire a few things so that I can escape from King Cold's base."

"I see," he said with a frown. "Well, Vegeta has a plan for you in order so that should it happen that things go wrong, you have the opportunity to get yourself and young Trunks to safety. Did he not-"

"I screwed up, Bardock," she cut him off. "Vegeta did everything he possibly could have to ensure my safety, bar sending me off _before_ he left. He gave me a ship and supplies and funds, _everything_ and instructions to leave if things went badly for him. It did, he warned me to leave through the bond and I delayed. It was too late," she looked away as she told him the story. She felt better that things seemed to be exactly the same, as from her time, but she wasn't sure she could tell him the full story. The guilt surrounding it came back at full force now that he was in front of her.

"I was supposed to leave and take Tarble with me as well and instead of leaving the moment Vegeta told me to, I wasted time. I came here to leave you a note, letting you know that Trunks and I had left and that Chi-Chi would know where I'd gone and…" she began to cry. "I'm so sorry, Bardock,"

Bardock sat there calmly, listening to her as she attempted to tell him the story. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he believed her. "What are you sorry for?" he asked, reaching across the table to lightly touch her hand as she cried and he was horrified to notice for the first time that one of her hands was completely mangled and disfigured.

"I.. You showed up at pretty much the same time the guards did to take me into custody and you… You died trying to protect me!" she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I should have just gone. I never thought… And everything went horrible after that. Everything is _still_ horrible!"

Bardock swallowed hard as she told him of his fate. It was distressing, though not surprising to him. He loved Bulma as though she were his own family and he had no doubt believing that he would do such a thing for her. He wasn't sure what to say to her, however to assuage her apparent guilt over it.

"Do not blame yourself," he said gently to her, lightly touching her good hand. "It sounds like things sped so completely out of your control and it is within your nature to be considerate. If you up and disappeared, I would have assumed you had left, but would have still worried that you and Trunks were safe. Do not spend another moment troubling yourself over this. I am sure in the other life I hold no animosity towards you over it."

"But you were _killed!_ " she exclaimed, hiding her injured hand from him under the table as she noticed him looking at it. "I should have just left the moment Vegeta told me to. I was in shock, I took my time, I… I don't even remember why it took me so long…"

"And after you were taken by King Cold's men they turned around and destroyed Vegeta-sei from the sounds of it, am I correct?" he asked calmly.

"As soon as we were within reasonable distance that the ship wouldn't have been destroyed by the debris, yes," she nodded. She'd told herself this a thousand times over in order to attempt to clear her conscience where Bardock's death was concerned, but it never made her feel any better.

"Then I'd have been a dead man anyway along with everyone else here," he reasoned calmly and without accusation or judgment. "Do not feel guilty. You, after all, did not destroy Vegeta-sei. The blame is not with you, it is with King Vegeta and King Cold. You have nothing to feel sorry for."

Bulma shook her head at him. Somehow his understanding and kindness and unwillingness to condemn her made her feel worse. This was something they would obviously have to agree to disagree on. "Thank you, Bardock. This is something that has been plaguing me since it happened. Anyway, I have some important information that I have to give you and in return, I need your advice and knowledge on a few things." She said abruptly changing the subject. It was simply too hurtful to discuss at length and she hoped with everything that her being here and warning him and Vegeta would change everything for the better. It wasn't guaranteed, but at least there was the chance and they would have the possibility of preventing the same future from happening a second time.

"I will help you in any way that I can," he nodded though felt strangely out of his league. This girl had after all made a time machine that apparently worked and she had been the one who had invented the gravity room. What help could he possibly be to her?

"I know," she smiled. "Alright, well I'll give you what I've got. These are plans for an android. They were created by a deranged doctor from my home planet. He made connections with Frieza and was working for him after my planet was destroyed. It was him that tried to ruin the bond between Vegeta and I when I was taken. He was angry that Vegeta had killed Frieza and somehow escaped and fled to King Cold's base where he has been residing since Frieza's death. In that time, he created these androids in Frieza's image. These are what Vegeta and his men will be encountering. They are nearly indestructible."

Bardock carefully examined the diagram of the android she had slid across the table towards him as she explained its origins. He had heard of artificial soldiers before, though had never dabbled in their creation or encountered them personally. "This is _very_ intricate," he said as he studied it.

"They are," she agreed. "They are extremely strong, with the exception of their joints. That seems to be their only weakness, however getting close to them is a problem. They are able to absorb a person's life force energy by a mere touch with their hand. They have a nearly unending power supply as is. They run off solar energy as well and when they need a boost, latching onto the nearest live person is what powers them up even further. Also, no ki blasts; they just absorb them and become even more powerful. So they need to watch that they aren't grabbed and under no circumstances use ki on them."

"My god," Bardock exclaimed. "And Vegeta perished trying to defeat an army of these androids?"

"Not perished, no," she shook her head. "That's where I need your help."

"Anything," he said. "What happened to Vegeta?"

"They killed everyone with the exception of Raditz and Asia I'm afraid. Vegeta made them leave when it went bad. Apparently they tried to find other survivors, but there weren't any. They were to come find me on Calisto but I never made it there. I'm assuming they are alive and well," she started. "Kakarott insisted on going with Vegeta as well last minute and…"

"He did not make it," Bardock finished, frowning in sadness. "And you have never heard word on Raditz?"

"No," she shook her head. "I haven't had any means to contact anyone. This time travel trip is the first I've been outside the lab since I arrived on King Cold's base."

"I see," he nodded, beginning to feel almost numb and unable to form a proper reaction to all this bad news. He would grieve later on, in private. "So Vegeta is alive?"

"Yes, sort of," she sighed. "The crazy doctor was using him for genetic testing and experimentation; it was absolutely disgusting. I was forced to assist as well. There was one day where it was so bad, Vegeta's body just shut down and he died on the table. The doctor was just barely able to revive him and then put him in a regeneration tank. The next day, King Cold came to the lab and ordered that Dr. Gero focus his attentions on something else and Vegeta has been in a drug induced coma ever since."

"He is recovered at least?" Bardock asked, though the look on his face gave away that he was very disturbed by the news she was bringing him.

"No," she shook her head. "When they first captured him, they put a collar on him that suppresses and drains his ki so he cannot recover from any injuries on his own like he normally would. The stats in the tank indicate he's at about thirty percent recovery and it's never gone up from what I can tell. It just stays there, so I think it's hindering the tank from fixing him as well."

"Oh my," he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "You need to get him out of there and get that collar off of him before it does any permanent and irreversible damage. Even if you get him out, he may never fully recover beyond what he already has. I know you will not want to consider this, but the kinder option may be to leave him and get out on your own. Get yourself, Trunks and Tarble to safety and leave him there."

Bulma frowned at him and grit her teeth stubbornly. Bardock was the last person she'd expected to hear that from. "I'm _not_ leaving him there."

Bardock nodded at her determined tone. He knew that already but it was something for her to consider. What kind of quality of life would Vegeta have after the fact? "I understand your dedication and sentiments, however if he will never make a full recovery, you know he will only resent you for getting him out."

"I know," she admitted quietly. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. I'd rather wait it out and take that risk and have him hate me for it than leave and regret it for the rest of my life. I don't think I could live with myself. I have enough regret to deal with already."

"Very well," Bardock agreed. He figured that she wouldn't leave him there, however knowing Vegeta as well as he did, he knew that he would never be satisfied simply existing if he was so damaged by this that he would never be even a fraction of what he was before. She needed to prepare herself for that event in case it happened that way. "So what do you need my help with?"

"They've locked the tank so that I cannot re program it or do anything to get him out. If I do anything, the life support will be cut off," she explained. "He's currently in a deep coma instead of usual sedation for a normal healing span. I don't think King Cold has any intention of letting him out, ever. How do I unlock the controls and I also need to find out what the long term effects of his being in there for so long could be. What is the liquid made of? What kind of sedation do they use for something like this? How long will it take for him to wake up or bring him out of it? If he's been in it for the last few years, is he going to have withdrawals? Anything you can tell me will help me. Even if you don't know, if you have a book I can study, I can figure it out on my own, but I need to know everything I can so that when the time comes to leave, I can get him out safely without killing him or damaging him even worse than he already will be."

Bardock thought on it a long moment before responding. He wanted to help her with all his heart but he did not want to give her false hope or bad information that would result in harming Vegeta. "If they have programmed it, you will need to break the security code they have put in place. Will it cut everything off immediately if you enter the wrong code while trying to hack it?"

"I don't know and I don't want to chance it. Dr. Gero said that if I tampered with it in any way, shape or form that it would cut off all life support to him."

"So far as I am aware then, unless you have that security code, there is not a whole lot you can do and you certainly will not be able to bring him out of it slowly, which would be preferable." Bardock said.

"So what do I do, break the glass?" she asked trying to not let the despair of it all get to her just yet. There had to be another way to get him out.

"Essentially, yes. That is your best option." Bardock nodded in agreement.

"But that won't put him into shock to have the drugs suddenly out of his system after all this time?" she asked.

"It will, but even if you bring him out of it slowly, he will more than likely still be in shock. He's been suspended in water for several years. I would be willing to bet that the ki collar is doing more harm to him than the tank. If anything, the tank is giving him the nutrients and whatever he needs to survive on a very basic level without his body shutting down."

"Will he wake up immediately or will it take a while?" she asked. "Because if I break him out, we'll need to get out of the lab and leave King Cold's base right then. I won't have time to wait for him to wake up and wean him off everything and nurse him back. I will need to break him out and go."

"It is difficult to say," he said. "Come here, though. I will show you a tank. Assuming it is a very similar model to mine, I can show you how it works."

Bulma followed him to the back of the lab where a couple of tanks were kept. They looked the same as the one in Dr. Gero's lab. He showed her how to change the default language because she could not read the language that was on the one Vegeta was in. After that, he showed her how to navigate through all the different settings. Apparently there were several. Some modes were for healing someone quickly, some were slower modes, he explained or more serious injuries that needed more time, such as internal issues.

She frowned and swallowed hard at that one; that was why she hadn't been healed completely. Her hand drifted subconsciously to her abdomen as she thought about her situation. Had Gero just left her, she would have been fine. She'd probably be stuck with a child she did not want, but she'd come to terms that she would have preferred that than the alternative of what she got.

"Are you alright?" Bardock asked her as he noticed she looked upset and not paying attention to him anymore.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Sorry. I'm a bit of a mess. This is a lot. I so _need_ to get him out of there."

"You will," he said confidently. "I have no doubt of that."

Bardock went back to showing her the settings and how to tell what type of sedation was used. He showed her one that would typically be used in the event that someone was required to have an extended stay in a tank. It did not occur to him that someone would _do_ that. The regeneration tanks were meant to heal severe injuries quickly, not contain an occupant for months or even years on end. It was unfathomable to him what Bulma had told him not only about his own personal future but of the fate of the planet and the outcome of Bulma and Vegeta as well.

She was disturbed. Of that he was certain and he could tell there was a lot to the story she was leaving out. He was not sure if he even _wanted_ to know the full extent of everything she had gone through. Just from looking at her he could tell that she was exhausted and malnourished. Physically she looked terrible, however her eyes were what made him not worry so much about her. Her eyes revealed a strong, steely determination that would drive her to do everything and anything possible to get her family out of this horrible mess they had fallen into. He admired her for it. It would have been very easy for her to simply give up, but here she was trying to not only save them but warn him and the people she loved so that they did not share the same fate.

He only hoped that if she succeeded, that Vegeta would appreciate everything she had done and not ultimately detest her for saving him if his injuries were permanent and he would never be the same.

"May I ask what happened to your hand?" he asked her once he had told her everything he knew about the regeneration tank. To think that she had managed to build a time machine with her right hand mangled up like that only fueled his admiration of this small, remarkable woman. It was had been picking at him since he'd noticed it that someone had done that to her and she was in an obviously very technologically advanced place and they had not taken the time or care to repair it for her.

Bulma looked at it and winced. "It doesn't even bother me anymore. I… It happened here when I was in custody. It had healed like this by the time I made it to King Cold's base so yea… I don't want to talk about it."

"Fair enough," he nodded, not pressing her. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?"

"No, it's fused and healed that way," she shook her head, holding it out to him to look at, which he did, quite thoroughly and with care. It looked to him like someone had deliberately gone and crushed it. "You'd have to put in hours of surgery and break and rebuild it. I don't have the time for that. I need to get back to my time soon. I'm only here to get information, grab a few things and share with you what I know about those androids and hope you all choose a different path. If you won't leave, can you make sure that Chi-Chi leaves? She doesn't know it yet, but she's pregnant with their second child. She found out like the day before Kakarott left with Vegeta and she was just furious with him."

"I will share everything with my family and we will make plans accordingly," he nodded. "You tell Vegeta and I will do my best to influence both him and Bulma of what the best course of action will be at this point. You are stubborn and will not be easy to convince to leave Vegeta."

"I know," she nodded. "I'm stupid."

"Well, and please do not take this the wrong way, one look at you and Vegeta will more than likely _make_ her leave whether she wants to or not."

Bulma smiled and nodded. "Good," she said. "Then maybe I succeeded at something."

"I do not think you are giving yourself enough credit, Bulma," he said gently. "Anything you did, you probably thought was the best decision at the time. No one will fault you for that."

"You say that because you have no idea some of the things I've done and stupid, bad decisions I've made," she sighed in shame, walking back to the table. "Bardock, there's things I will never be able to tell Vegeta if we get out of there. He will never forgive me."

"I am certain that is not true without knowing the specifics, however for now just focus on getting yourself, Trunks and Vegeta out of your current situation," he advised carefully. "Everything else will work itself out afterwards."

Bulma nodded, even though she did not believe him. She wasn't even sure how she was going to face Vegeta in this timeline later. Every time she thought about it, her stomach turned to knots. She wasn't sure how much to tell him or if he would even listen to her. What if he just blasted her on sight thinking she was just an imposter?

"Here's the rest of my notes of everything I could get about those androids," she said, changing the subject abruptly again as she felt herself becoming emotional again. "I was hoping to get you guys something else on them to give you an advantage, but the best I can give you is the weakness in their joints and to not give them the opportunity to absorb energy, be it directly from a touch or through a ki blast. It's all explained in there, but they all run on the same frequency or power source and that's located in the lab where I have no access. So I'm afraid that's not very helpful to you."

"Even giving me this is going to be of great help," he said, taking the full notebook she had given him. "I can show Bulma these?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I won't be going to see her because I don't know how that will work, running into a past version of yourself and such, but show them to her; maybe together you two can come up with something. I have a duplicate set of those notes and I will be giving Vegeta copies as well so that he and his men can study them."

"Thank you," he said to her. "I will do everything that I possibly can to make sure things do not turn out the same."

"I know you will," she nodded.

"If we succeed, will that change things for you where you are from?"

"No," she shook her head. "We're stuck and have to live with this, but I have obsessed over things so many times thinking that if we had done this or done that, things would have been completely different. So if I know that there is another universe out there that was able to do things differently, that is enough for me."

Bardock smiled warmly at her. She had accomplished the impossible. Never would he have thought such a thing as time travel would be anything other than wishful thinking. Yet here she'd done it. "We will not fail you by making the same mistakes," he said to her, feeling that he owed her something for coming here and warning them.

"Well, it's the least I could do since I failed _everyone_ in my timeline," she said. "You and Vegeta especially."

"Do not think that way," he said encouragingly. "Now, do you have everything you need to take back with you?"

"I think so," she said. "I took two scouter prototypes we had been working on because I want to make sure I have a clean line to communicate with the boys. I have a scouter I use to keep in touch with them, but I don't trust it that it cannot be traced or that it is private and we can speak without someone listening in. The only other thing I wanted was books on regeneration tanks and a chemistry book to learn about what is in the liquid and sedation."

"You mentioned that you have Tarble with you as well, do you want a third scouter?" he asked.

"Can I take a third one?" she asked almost timidly.

"Absolutely," he nodded going over to where he had kept them. They had several that were completed and ready to go. "Is there anything else I can give you that will help?"

"No, thank you Bardock. Anything else I need is in our room. I was going to wait until they are at the banquet and grab a few things then and wait until later to speak with Vegeta," she said. "I just need things like warm clothes that I never used here and some armor and flight suits for Vegeta for when we get out of there."

"Just be careful that no one sees you until then and if Vegeta does not believe you, tell him to come to me, I will verify your story," Bardock said to her. "It is about time now that people will be arriving at the banquet and I need to be heading back. You are certain there is nothing more I can do to help you?"

"I'm positive," she said. "You told me everything I needed to know and consider and are kind enough to give me some books to use as a reference. Thank you."

"It is my pleasure," he said, letting her hug him and he whole heartedly hugged her back. "Please take care of yourself and your family, Bardock. I'm so sorry to have given you such bad news."

"None of it was your fault," he said soothingly, holding her close as she began to cry. He wasn't sure what else to say to her, but suspected she just needed an emotional outlet for a moment and so he let her cry until she pulled herself together a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away from him. "I'm okay now. Thank you for being so understanding."

"Always," he replied, letting her go. He wished there was something more he could do to help her, but at the same time, he was fairly confident that she would figure her way out of this mess. If she could build a time machine that worked, there was nothing that would hold her back when she was ready to make her escape.

"Take care," she said as she capsulated the scouters and books and exited the lab.

Bardock took a moment to absorb everything that just happened that afternoon. He wasn't sure if he should have felt relieved, thankful or distressed over the things he learned would take place very shortly. He was not even sure who to tell.

After mulling it over for some time, he decided to wait on it until the next morning. Bulma and Vegeta were coming to his place to pick up Trunks and have breakfast. Hopefully the Bulma he'd met today would get the chance to speak with Vegeta as well and tomorrow they would discuss it as a group at his place, where it was safe, without risk of anyone accidentally becoming privy to it.

He had to make sure things went different this time around.

-0-0-0-

Bulma wandered around the palace aimlessly for about an hour, pulling herself together. Seeing and speaking with Bardock had really taken it out of her. Seeing Vegeta would be worse, she knew. She needed to pull herself together and not become too emotional in front of him. If there was one thing he couldn't deal with, it was her being an emotional mess.

She ended up not far from the entry of the banquet and noticed that there were already a couple of people beginning to congregate there. She decided that it was smart to wait here and watch Vegeta and herself go in before attempting to raid their bedroom for a few things.

After standing there a while and no appearance of Vegeta and Bulma, she decided to sit down against the wall behind a pillar, despite knowing no one would notice her. After what felt like ages, she began to feel herself wanting to doze off and was considering going for another walk for a little while to keep herself awake, when she saw Vegeta and her past self emerge from around the corner coming towards the banquet hall; her arm delicately linked through his and Bulma froze at the sight of them.

Her breath caught as she watched herself and it had to be the most surreal moment she had ever experienced in her life. She remembered how insecure she'd felt after having Trunks. And she remembered second guessing the beautiful, yet daring dress she had chosen to wear for the evening. She had worried her body wasn't in shape enough to pull off wearing something as revealing and absolutely stunning as that. How dumb she had been to worry about it she realized only now, that she could see herself from afar and all these years later.

_You were absolutely stunning,_ she thought to herself in dismay as she ogled her younger self critically and judgmentally as they obliviously walked closer to her. What wouldn't she give to be able to wear that again. Her body now was covered in scars and underweight and she was hit with sadness at the thought that there she was, in her prime, and completely oblivious that she would never be as beautiful again as she was at that moment.

She took in Vegeta's appearance as well. He looked exactly as she remembered and felt her stomach flip as she watched him _with_ her younger self. No, he had not ever shown her affection in public, but she could tell from an outsiders view looking in that he cared very much for her just by the way he looked at her, the way he had his other hand rested atop her hand that was settled in the crook of his elbow. She remembered now, as she watched them, how nervous she had been about the evening. It was written all over her body language. She remembered him stroking the top of her hand in the crook of his elbow ever so lightly and discretely with his other hand as they walked from his quarters to the banquet room trying to reassure her.

Vegeta, however, looked as sure and calm as ever in his confidence at having her at his side and knowing that after that night it would be no question amongst the people if he had taken an alien woman as a mate or not. She could tell by the way he carried himself that he was proud and confident in his choice and god damn, he had every right to be proud. They made for a very handsome couple and she thought in disappointment that it was such a shame she didn't have a single picture of Vegeta or of them together.

Bulma felt the slight tinge of anger at herself as she fought the urge to walk up and slap herself silly for feeling so unworthy back then. Of being so insecure and insistent on him verbalizing his affections towards her. Had she been that blind to have not seen it? Hanging back and watching him now, it was so clear.

She shook her head as she saw herself stop once they reached the doors, nervous to enter the banquet hall. _Ugh, pull yourself together and quit fidgeting!_ She thought to herself and then berated herself for how much she sounded like her mother.

"Don't abandon me," she said to him nervously, looking at him in alarm before going inside.

"I would do no such thing," he scoffed.

Bulma held back the urge to snort and call him out on that. He _had_ abandoned her that evening. _Twice!_ Once shortly after they arrived before dinner to speak with Kakarott and once after dinner to discuss war plans with his father and a few of the higher up political figures.

Bulma once again was going to go and start on her mission once they were inside the banquet hall, but curiosity got the better of her and she snuck in behind another couple walking in right after them. She looked around and the smells and sight of everything brought her right back to that evening. She very carefully meandered through the crowd and felt her blood pressure go up and stomach drop and churn unpleasantly at the sight of Vegeta's father. She swallowed the lump that immediately grew in her throat from anxiety at just the mere sight of him and wondered if coming here now was such a good idea?

"You are looking exceptionally regal this evening. One could almost mistake you for an actual princess and not a simple bed slave," he said; loud enough for others not standing nearby to still hear.

Bulma resisted the urge to walk up to him and do something, anything to him. She didn't think it at the time, but almost everyone in the room would have heard that remark. She was only standing on the sidelines and she heard him clear as day. That, combined with the fact that Saiyans had very sensitive hearing, of _course_ everyone present would have heard him and she felt just as humiliated now as she had at the time.

"Thank you, your highness, you are most kind." Her younger self replied sweetly, ignoring the insult.

Bulma shook her head at herself. How had she not flown off the handle and told him to go fuck himself? To take his insult disguised as a complement and shove it up his _royal_ ass!

"Bulma is my _mate._ Therefore, she retains the title as _Princess_ of Vegeta-sei." Vegeta said boldly to his father, also loud enough for those who were listening to hear.

Her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped at his words. God it hurt how much she loved him and missed him!

"I suppose you could pass her off as such easily enough," his father shrugged dismissively. "Very well, I will play along with this charade for the evening; enjoy yourself, my dear." He said to Bulma with a dismissive nod.

Bulma shook her head again and walked away, for fear of picking up the heaviest object she could find and throwing it directly at the king's head.

She strode over to the drink table and very carefully snuck around the servant minding the alcoholic beverages. When his back was turned, she swiped an open bottle of wine that was only half full along with a glass and stalked off to find a seat to enjoy a glass of wine on her own. She knew that it was a very bad idea to indulge while in the middle of a mission, but she needed a little bit of liquid courage if she was going to be able to face Vegeta later on without being a complete blubbering mess, she reasoned, pouring herself a healthy glass and closed her eyes as she savored the sweet flavored wine. She had missed this and made a mental note to try and swipe a bottle or two from Vegeta's room on her way out. She deserved it.

Besides, whether her attempt to convince Vegeta to change his path was successful or not, she decided she was getting utterly and completely obliterated once she got back. If for no other reason to dull the ache of loss of everything. Coming here had definitely made her feel even more grief stricken for everything that had happened and she was beginning to think it was a mistake.

She enjoyed a few more sips of wine in solitude in a corner before venturing forward. Emotion caught in her throat at the sight of Chi-Chi and Kakarott. Oh, how she wanted to run up and embrace her friend and tell her to get off the planet and go back to Callisto _now_ ; that them coming here had been a huge mistake. She remembered it would not be long from now that her friend would know of her pregnancy; two weeks if she recalled correctly?

Bulma would make it a point of telling Vegeta that whatever he did do with the information, to make sure Chi-Chi, Kakarott and their son Goten got out of here.

She watched them all converse as she slowly made her way closer to them and nearly choked when Vegeta scowled and suddenly looked right at her. Could he see her, she wondered? _No_ , there was no way. His gaze lingered and he looked somewhat confused for a moment before he looked away and asked to speak with Kakarott in private. She was going to hang back, but decided to go with them. She always had wanted to know what it was they discussed in private.

Bulma followed them out of the banquet hall and into a large boardroom beside it.

"What's up, Vegeta?" Kakarott asked. "Bulma sure looks pretty tonight."

"I did not bring you here to discuss that," he growled. "I got news this afternoon that I am to leave to face Cold within two weeks."

"Two weeks? Wow that was fast," Kakarott exclaimed. "Are you sure we're ready?"

"No, but we must deal with him now while he is not expecting it. If we wait, we will lose the element of surprise. Cold is currently expending all of his resources and soldiers hunting me down across the galaxy so we must go sooner, rather than later."

"Alright, whatever you say, Vegeta," Kakarott nodded. "You know I've got your back no matter which way this thing goes, though I don't have a good feeling about this. I think it's too soon. I think we should wait a little longer."

"That is something else I need to discuss with you," Vegeta said carefully. "I do not want you coming with me on this mission."

"What? Why not, Vegeta?" Kakarott asked and Bulma's heart went out to him. He was clearly hurt by that decision. "I've worked hard and I've improved so much. I can't let you go and do this without me, we're in this together, like always."

"I know, Kakarott," Vegeta said softly. "I know you have improved. Next to me there is no one stronger than you in our military."

"Exactly! So it makes no sense for you to take me off of this mission."

"I know, but your progress is why I need you to stay behind," Vegeta argued and she could tell that he was wrestling with his decision. "I need someone to stay behind and keep an eye on Bulma and Trunks while I am gone."

Kakarott sighed and gave Vegeta a long look before nodding in what Bulma took to be acceptance even though he did not agree. "I don't think you are making the right choice, but I will stay if that is what you want me to do. I'm only agreeing to this because I adore Bulma like a sister and I wouldn't trust your father either. If it weren't for that, I would insist on coming with you."

"If it weren't for my concerns, you would be coming along with me," he agreed. He paused for a long moment, glaring at the floor, looking like he had something else he needed to say, but was thinking better of it. "Kakarott, we should have left the women. We should have left them behind and waited until everything was sorted before bringing them here." He said finally.

"I don't know about that, Vegeta," Kakarott shrugged. "Chi-Chi and Goten are doing really well. I'm not sorry I brought them with me, but then again, I guess I'm not in the same boat as you. My parents love Chi-Chi."

"Well isn't that nice," Vegeta snipped, crossing his arms almost petulantly. "Bulma is miserable. I am finding it increasingly difficult to balance both my duties to what needs to be done here and be an adequate mate to her. I… it cannot be done."

"Awe, sure it can, Vegeta," Kakarott said lightly. "Just give it some time. I'm sure Bulma understands that too; this is a major adjustment for you both."

Vegeta nodded but didn't say anything else and Bulma could tell he was fighting an inner battle. Here she remembered thinking that he had been oblivious to how neglected she'd felt since they had arrived on Vegeta-sei. Watching him now, she realized he hadn't been oblivious at all and she felt an overwhelming pang of guilt now. How many arguments had she picked with him because she assumed he hadn't cared or even noticed how unhappy and stressed out she was? _Oh, Vegeta, I'm so, so sorry for being so selfish and blind!_ She cried inwardly. _Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you let me know that you knew and cared? You just confided it to Kakarott, why couldn't you confide that to me?_

She froze and forgot her mental ranting as she noticed him looking right at her again and she cursed herself for thinking too loud. Did he pick up on her thoughts? Was there still somewhat of a bond or lingering connection between them that he could somehow sense her? This was the second or third time he had looked in her direction and she was certain he was looking right at her or right through her; she wasn't sure, but it made her want to make her presence known and throw her arms around his neck and apologize for everything that was and wasn't her fault. Tell him to tell her that he knew how unhappy she was, to tell her how much he loved her now before it was too late and before she did something stupid in her neediness. She wanted to tell him to get her and Trunks off Vegeta-sei no matter how angry she would be about it, it was the only way.

It did not occur to her until now that maybe she should have written herself a letter. Since she wasn't sure if physically speaking to herself was a great idea or not, a letter would be better. She had the time. She could write it now while the banquet was going on and then give it to Vegeta to deliver.

Bulma followed Vegeta and Kakarott out and back into the banquet hall where it seemed like dinner was just about ready to be served. As much as she was tempted to stick around and eavesdrop on these past events that were unfolding _exactly_ as she remembered them, she made up her mind to stick with her plan and get to it before she lost all her nerve and missed the golden opportunity to talk to Vegeta after the banquet. That was the only time to do it.

She snuck out of the banquet hall and into their quarters. The sitting room looked exactly as she remembered it. Instead of taking in the feeling of nostalgia, she quickly grabbed three bottles of wine from the shelf before going into the bedroom to grab a few things she was sure neither her past self nor Vegeta would miss. She was rummaging in one of the drawers from the armoire looking for a comfy pair of pants that she knew should be there and she never wore them so wouldn't notice missing when she heard a low, deep growl from behind her.

"Aro!" she exclaimed in surprise, turning around to see the Belgian Shepherd standing at the entrance of their bedroom, his ears forward and head down, watching her carefully. Obviously the perception filter didn't work on him.

Bulma found herself trying not to cry at the sight of him and wanted nothing more than to go up to him but she could tell he was confused by her presence. She got down on her knees and patted her lap. "Come here, Aro," she coaxed gently.

He walked up to her slowly, still very unsure of her and she hoped he would recognize her and decide she was alright. He had to recognize her scent and voice, however she could tell he still wasn't sure what to make of her. He reached her and leaned in to sniff her cautiously for a moment before his tail began to wag.

"Good boy," she said, raising her hand to let him sniff her before reaching out to pet him. She stroked the side of his neck a moment before reaching to give him a hug. "You're such a good boy," she said quietly, letting herself cry into his neck. She had wondered so many times what had happened to him. If one of the guards had just blasted him or had they left him alone and he passed along with everyone else when Vegeta-sei had been destroyed?

"I'm so sorry for leaving you and not coming back," she said between sobs. "I'm trying to fix everything. If it doesn't work and things still go bad, I want you to know you're a good boy. I didn't abandon you and I think about you all the time."

She pulled away from the Shepherd to look at him as she threaded her fingers through the soft fur of his shoulder. He looked just as regal and handsome as she remembered. It had been at least six years since she had seen him and she wondered if things hadn't been so bad if he would still be alive in her time. If he was, he would have been old by now.

Bulma finally tore herself from Aro with great difficulty but reminded herself that she had a job to do here. Unfortunately it was much harder for her to just come in, quickly do what she needed to do and get back out than she thought it would be.

She grabbed two pairs of loose pants from the drawer and a t-shirt. As she was rummaging, she decided to grab a few sweaters; she had never worn sweaters on Vegeta-sei. It was just too hot. She needed them and so she grabbed a few hoodies and thick sweaters and tossed them on the ground where her pile of stuff to take with her was fast accumulating.

She walked over to the end table next to where her side of the bed was and looked through some of the lingerie she had. She smiled despite herself. She stashed away a pair of racy black panties and the matching bra. She only hoped they would still fit and she would still look good in them. She had lost a lot of weight and wasn't as toned and her skin not as tight as it used to be. If she did get out of there, she wondered if Vegeta would still be attracted to her?

She dismissed the thought and went back to the side of the room where Vegeta had kept all his flight suits and armor. She grabbed a royal blue one and a light, white armor that she knew he very rarely wore because it was casual and not heavy duty. He'd usually worn it for drills only, not sparring. She would have liked to have grabbed one that was stronger and would offer him more protection but she remembered how anal Vegeta was about his armor inventory. As it was, taking this one would be pushing it and he may notice it and a flight suit missing.

She stood in the middle of the room a moment, basking in the feeling of nostalgia. She went to their bed and picked up Vegeta's pillow and hugged it while inhaling deeply, taking in his scent. It had been so long since she'd smelled him and she remembered it perfectly she thought with pride. After a moment, she put it back to where it had been, smoothing it out so it didn't look like it had been disturbed and made her way to the spacious washroom.

While the shower and ginormous bathtub beckoned to her, she just looked at her reflection in the mirror and studied herself carefully.

She was still pretty she decided, but she could definitely see how the last several years had taken their toll on her. She had a few fine lines and her face was a little sunken in due to the lack of nutrition provided to her. Her hair, while almost boy short, still had its beautiful aqua blue color too and she did not notice any gray hairs she thought with satisfaction. Though seeing her younger self all done up this evening had really made her notice the changes in her own appearance, whereas before she figured she looked more or less exactly the same with the exception of her hair and weight loss.

Bulma reached for a comb and brushed her hair out, making it look neat and not as messy as it usually was these days. She rifled through the large selection of makeup and was going to put some on but settled on just some mascara. While she was anticipating seeing and hopefully talking to Vegeta later on, the thought of using her own make up kind of creeped her out for some reason. She felt like a ghost walking through their old room and it made her sad but determined her resolve to warn Vegeta no matter what and hopefully he would listen to her.

She capsulized all her belongings before deciding she had spent far too much time there and left. It would still be a while before Vegeta and her past self would leave the banquet and once again the huge bathtub and shower temptingly beckoned but she shook her head and did not turn back; fear of discovery and it just not feeling right over powered her yearnings.

She found the stationary that Vegeta kept in the sitting room, grabbing a pen, several sheets of paper and an envelope so she could write a letter to herself while she waited. She said good bye to Aro, closed the door of their quarters and made her way to the courtyard Vegeta would show her the next day she thought ironically. She would wait there until she was sure the timing was right and then once Vegeta and herself made it back to their rooms, would hopefully still have an argument and then when he emerged would she follow him and warn him.

Bulma smiled as she entered the large, spacious area and sat down. The sun was still up and beating down on her, making her feel warm and comfortable. She contemplated what she was about to say before beginning her letter to herself. Content that it was a good idea to do, she opened up one of the bottles of wine she had swiped, took a few decent sips and began her letter.

_Dear Bulma…_

-0-0-0-

Well then…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please shoot me a review… How do you think Vegeta will react? The next chapter is mostly done, I only have some editing and minor changes to do, so I will hopefully post it next Sunday if everything in my real life isn't too crazy busy. :D


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

 

 

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 41** _

It had taken Bulma about an hour to write her letter. It was long and detailed and she had found it oddly therapeutic to put everything down in writing; not only the events as they had occurred, but her thoughts and feelings on it all as well. When she'd gone back to re-read it once more, she had wondered if maybe she had given too much information, but then decided it was essential for her to reveal every gruesome, disturbing detail she could think of. The whole purpose of the letter was to convince her other self that leaving Vegeta-sei as soon as possible was what she needed to do, even if it wasn't what she _wanted_ to do.

If scaring her other self was what it took, then so be it.

She collected her things and made her way carefully down the halls and back to Vegeta's quarters, where she hoped it wouldn't be long before they showed up. She decided to sit on the floor against a wall a ways away from the room so she would not be noticed or possibly _sensed_ by Vegeta.

Bulma began to doze off when she heard a door open down the hall. She sighed in relief when it was both Vegeta and her other self. _Finally!_ She knew it couldn't be that long now and so she went back to dozing off a little more as she waited for Vegeta to leave.

Just as she suspected, about twenty minutes later, Vegeta stormed out of their room in a huff. He wasn't wearing his formal armor, just his black flight suit. He marched right by her and down the hall in a brusque pace. She stood up and quickly followed him. Now was her chance and she hoped with everything within her that not only would she have the courage to speak to him but that he would listen to her.

He didn't go to the large, spacious courtyard she had assumed he had gone. Instead, he passed it and continued to walk around what almost seemed like aimlessly to her. She was wondering if that was all he had done when he'd left her; just went for a really long walk. As she was thinking of a way to get his attention so that she could talk to him, he finally opened a door and went inside. It was someplace she had never been, but she followed him nonetheless, squeezing in quietly through the door before it closed.

Despite it being dark, she could tell that it was a small, peaceful courtyard with trees and a small pond. Lots of rocks and a small garden of brightly colored and exotic scented flowers. It was absolutely gorgeous and she wondered why he had never brought her here. Finally, he sat down on a bench near by the small pond and buried his head in his hands.

 _Now is the time_ , she told herself, but she found herself paralyzed and overcome with doubt and fear. What if he didn't believe her? What if he thought she was an imposter and blasted her without hearing what she had to say? What if he was turned off and appalled by her appearance? She was a far cry from what she used to look like; she hadn't even realized how different she looked until she'd seen herself this evening. It had been a major hit to her self-esteem to say the least. How would _her_ Vegeta react when he saw her?

As thoughts of self-pity and the worst case scenario began to swirl around in her mind and she began to lose her resolve to approach him at all, he happened to suddenly look up and in her direction.

"Who are you, and why are you following me?" she heard him ask out loud, his voice heavy with annoyance.

 _Shit!_ She cursed to herself, looking around behind her to make sure there wasn't anyone else there that he may have been addressing. Sure enough, there was no one else there.

"Whoever you are, I know you have been following me around most of the day," he said again. "Make yourself known; I am _not_ in the mood for games."

He sounded royally pissed and she wasn't sure what the best thing to do was. _This was a really stupid idea,_ she told herself.

"Show yourself or I will blast you!" he threatened, standing up and taking a few steps towards her, despite not being able to actually see her. He had formed a small ki ball in his hand and she knew if she didn't speak up, he'd probably toss it in her direction within a matter of seconds and she would be toast.

"Don't!" she cried, stepping closer to him, hoping that whatever effect the perception filter had on him would wear off now that she wasn't still and quiet. "I'm sorry! Please don't blast me!"

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked suspiciously, extinguishing the ki ball. The person sounded an awful lot like Bulma, which confused him because he had sensed Bulma's energy signature following him around on and off this afternoon and part of the evening. He frowned as he noticed movement and a very thin woman with short, blue hair appeared before him. She was still standing a fair distance away from him and it was dark, so he couldn't quite get a good look at her. She did, however strike a very close resemblance to Bulma from what he could tell.

He blinked several times in confusion as he looked at her; his eyes telling him that the woman standing in front of him was Bulma, but his common sense telling him that wasn't possible.

"Was the banquet tonight?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes," he answered, still looking confused and suspicious of her.

"Oh good! I'm right on time!"

"Cut it with the cryptic bullshit and tell me who you are." He demanded.

"I can't."

"That's too bad because if you can't, then I will blast you where you stand," he threatened, producing a ki ball again.

 _Jeepers I forgot how scary he is when he's mad,_ she thought to herself. It had been so long since she'd seen him animated and coherent in any capacity. Despite the fact that he was angry and distrustful of her, seeing any kind of reaction out of him nearly brought her to tears right then. She only wished he would give her a chance, believe her and listen to her.

"Alright, but you need to listen carefully to what I am saying. It's a little unbelievable, but I swear to you that it's the truth. I'm not a crazy person, I promise."

"Get on with it!" He snarled.

"I'm Bulma," she blurted out. No sense in side skirting the issue now. "I am _your_ Bulma from the future; about, say… about six years from now, give or take."

He looked at her blankly a moment and then chuckled darkly. "You are right, that _is_ unbelievable. Now let's try again. Who are you, _really_?"

"I'm not lying. I _am_ Bulma from the future." She insisted.

He glared at her a moment, studying her intently. She certainly looked the part, somewhat. Her scent, voice and energy signal proved her story, but something was off about her. She was too thin, her complexion hollow and her hair an absolute disaster. "Alright, prove it, woman. Tell me something _only_ Bulma would know. Something _exclusive_ to only the two of us."

"That's easy," she scoffed confidently. "We met at a tavern on the planet Vegas even though you hate places like that and I caught your attention on stage. Raditz set you up with me and initially you weren't impressed but eventually you were drawn to me because of my knowledge of capsule technology. You left, gave me a ton of cash to put towards buying my freedom but came back for me two weeks later."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "True, but I want something more specific. Something only _you_ would know."

She nodded, trying to think up something else exclusive to only the two of them. One scenario came to mind having to do with his past while serving Frieza when he was young, but she didn't want to mention it. "Alright, the night you took me as your mate, we exchanged vows and rings here on Vegeta-sei on a private island only you know about. This is mine, she said, holding up her left hand and showing him her ring. "And yours is a black onyx band that you wear around your neck and under your armor. You never take it off, even when you thought I was dead for eight months." She finished, reaching down her shirt and showing him his own ring that she now wore around her neck.

He nodded at her. So far as he knew, no one other than Bulma knew that, however he still did not believe she could possibly be his mate from the future. How was that even possible? Not only that but why did she have his ring then and why did she look a haggard mess? It was more than a little farfetched that Bulma from the future was here talking with him. "All of that is true, but I am still not convinced."

"Alright," she sighed, becoming annoyed with him now. "You are sitting alone out here brooding angrily because we just had a fight. Your father told me this evening that my life span is much shorter than yours. I'm angry at you for not telling me this fact before we bonded and you are angry with me for being angry at you over it. You just told me that I hold you back in life, you didn't mean it and so you stormed out of our bedroom before you said anything else hurtful. And if you want further proof that I am who I say I am, I can tell you the sordid details of the abuse you endured under Frieza, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to mention any of that for you to believe me."

His features darkened at her last admission. She _did_ look older than his mate, however she looked tired and warn out and much too thin. That being as it may, it was mostly her eyes that convinced him that she clearly was an older version of the woman he had just stormed out on. "How?" he asked. "Never mind that; if what you say is true, _why_ are you here?"

"That's a long story," she sighed, grateful and relieved that he seemed to believe her enough to give her a chance to explain herself. She walked up to him and studied him for a moment. He looked perfect; exactly as she remembered him. He stood tall and confident. His frown had softened somewhat so he didn't look as severe as he had a few minutes ago and the intensity of his dark eyes made her feel intimidated and very self-conscious yet at the same time almost made her swoon despite herself. He was _so_ handsome and she had to refrain from reaching out and touching him to confirm to herself that he was real and actually standing in front of her. Feeling awkward, she moved past him and went to the bench he had been sitting at and took a seat. She was quiet a long moment as she swallowed down a large lump in her throat and composed herself. She needed to get through telling him everything without falling apart and she wasn't sure if she could do that. As it was, she now found it hard to find her voice and just being near a live, conscious, _talking_ version of Vegeta was enough to throw her over the edge of being able to maintain her composure.

Vegeta watched her cautiously. He was able to pick up on her emotional fluctuations and while he was impatient to find out the reasons behind her mysterious and sudden appearance and how she could have managed such a thing as supposedly traveling back in time, it was clear that she was emotionally distraught. If she was who she claimed she was, she had obviously been through a lot. She didn't need to tell him that for him to know and as he looked closer at her, his stomach began to churn unpleasantly at the thought that she was here to give him bad news. If she could travel back in time, why else would she be here?

"Vegeta, I built a time machine and have traveled back in time to warn you," she started after taking a breath, confident that she could at least begin telling him her story. "If tonight is the night of the banquet, you need to listen to me and change your course. In exactly two weeks from now, you will leave here to face King Cold in battle. I know you are pumped and dying to finish him off, but going now is a mistake. Your father is setting you up for failure. He made a deal with King Cold to turn you over to him by means of a peace offering. Cold is pissed that you killed Frieza and wants your head or he will destroy this planet and your father and everyone.

"So you are jumping head first into a battle that you have been told will be easy, it's not. You will get there and find yourself outnumbered by androids, or artificial soldiers. You and almost everyone you bring with you will fall in this battle and that is only the beginning."

Vegeta stared at her blankly for a long moment. While his mind and common sense told him that this was a hoax, her serious tone and demeanor told him to not completely dismiss her story without asking for more information. This evening, Bulma had told him not to trust his father. He had not asked her why or to elaborate on her statement, but it kind of made sense now upon hearing this. "What happens to you and Trunks?"

"You left us here on our own," she explained. "Kakarott was supposed to stay with us too, but he changed his mind last minute and went with you; he is dead. Asia was also sent away to go with you on this battle and she charged me with looking after Tarble because she does not trust your father to look after him. So far as I know, only she and Raditz were the only survivors; I have not had the means to contact them to know for sure. Only you were spared and once you were taken in, your father sent soldiers to arrest us. Bardock did his best to protect me, but he was killed and we were still taken.

"After a week or so, we were then sent to Cold's planet; another part of the agreement they had made. Cold was intrigued by the idea of a Saiyan hybrid and so he has raised Trunks and Tarble to be child soldiers. I was put to work in the lab with Dr. Gero, who survived Frieza's ship and Cold destroyed Vegeta-sei all together."

Vegeta sat down next to her in desolation as he contemplated this new information. Kakarott and Bardock were dead, his home was destroyed, that freak Gero had somehow survived and his family had _still_ ended up captive under Cold? "And within a few weeks from now I am slain in battle?"

She shook her head. "No,"

"Then what?" he asked irritably, his mouth felt dry and he felt like the stone in the pit of his stomach had doubled in size in just a few minutes. "What happens to me? If I am not killed by Cold and his army or executed after the battle then why did I not protect you and Trunks?"

"You tried, Vegeta. You really did, but I didn't make it out in time," she said sadly, not wanting to give him the full details surrounding the events between him telling her to leave and her arrival on King Cold's base. "King Cold held a trial for you once I arrived there. It was nothing more than a witch hunt to humiliate you. I did try to defend you and explain your side of everything but there wasn't much point. Cold had made his decision before the trial. You were sentenced to the lab.

"Gero tortured you for months doing medical experiments on you, Vegeta. And they turned Trunks and Tarble into child soldiers and I..."

"You weren't-"

She nodded at him and swallowed heavily in an attempt to not allow herself to become emotional in front of him. "I'll spare you the gory details."

"They put you in the harem?" he pushed.

"No," she shook her head at him and paused a moment. No, she couldn't tell him; she'd fall apart and it would only hurt him. Besides, she had included all of that in her letter to herself. She'd revealed everything in there. He could read it later on, on his own and learn the truth. "I can't talk about it, Vegeta."

Vegeta glared at her and finally took the opportunity to really look at her. He'd already noted that she was far too thin and her hair was a cut up, short mess. To him he thought she looked a lot more than six years older than his Bulma, however, he knew well that hardship and stress did that to a person. It was more than just her physical appearance that told him she had been through a lot. Her whole countenance confirmed that. She looked disturbed and haunted and he could literally _feel_ her desperation that he not only listen to what she had to say but that he acted on it. He noticed her hand as well for the first time and frowned even deeper at the realization that there was so much more she was not telling him and wondered how bad it could possibly be and what other possible injuries she had sustained both physically and emotionally that were not obvious to him. "What happened to you?"

Bulma looked down at her hand, realizing he had noticed it and moved it to hide it, but he was quicker and grabbed it before she could move away from him. He gently brought it towards him so that he could inspect it.

"Who did this?" he asked as he looked at her hand.

"It doesn't matter, Vegeta," she sighed, trying to pull her hand out of his grasp but he held onto it firmly. "It happened so long ago and I don't want to talk about it."

"Is there anything you _will_ talk about?" he asked in annoyance, though it was because he was concerned and shaken up at the thought that she had been hurt.

She shook her head. "I can't,"

"No one fixed it?" he asked, looking at her hand again and she could tell he was angry.

"No," she shook her head. "Where do you think I am, Vegeta?"

He ground his teeth together at the stupidity of his own question. Of course they wouldn't have given a shit about her hand or any other injuries she may have acquired. "So where do things stand now?" he asked, letting her hand go. "You made it out? Where is Trunks?"

"No. I still work in the lab. Trunks visits with me when he can along with Tarble, but they are soldiers. Sometimes they are gone for months on missions. Trunks is so strong, Vegeta. You'd be so proud of him."

"And me? I am deceased I take it?"

"No," she answered. "You, you're in a drug induced coma in a regeneration tank. You've been that way for a few years now."

"What!"

"You nearly died during one of Dr. Gero's horrible experiments. He put you in there to revive you after an experiment gone wrong in which you did die and were revived, but Cold wanted him to focus on other things, so you've been in a regeneration tank for a few years. I cannot figure out a way of making you come out of it; they have it jammed so that if I try to do anything it will cut off the life support and you will die.

"So you live in the lab, in a regeneration tank with me. I came back here to warn you so that you can change our future and to find out if there is a way to bypass what they've done so that I can get you out before I escape the lab and King Cold's base for good."

Vegeta sat there completely numb.

"I don't know what to do, Vegeta. I want to get you out but I don't know how to do that without harming you," she admitted, trying to keep her voice even; it was becoming more and more difficult. "I spoke with Bardock already and he gave me some helpful information, but I still have a lot to consider."

"Pull the plug." He said tonelessly.

"What?"

"Pull the plug. Let me go. Take the boy and get yourselves out of there and some place safe."

"But I can't, Vegeta," she objected. "I won't leave you behind."

"You came here seeking to warn me and to seek out advice," he reminded her. "That is my advice. I would not be angry with you for that. I would be angrier that you wasted your life slaving for Cold and living whatever hellish life you currently are trapped in instead of getting yourself and our son to safety."

She coughed as she unsuccessfully tried to swallow the lump of emotion that had been creeping its way up her throat, knowing that he was right. When they got out of this, he would be angry that she had stayed so long. _Oh god, he's going to have so many reasons to be angry with me when I get him out of there,_ she thought to herself in panic as she wiped her eyes.

Vegeta looked at her a moment. "I can hear you, you know," he said to her. It fascinated him that they were still apparently connected on some small level. "I could hear you earlier as well. When I was speaking with Kakarott. You were in the room, weren't you?"

Bulma felt her face burn red from embarrassment. She _knew_ she'd been thinking too god damned loud! Well, at least that was the reason that he had noticed her presence and not because the perception filter wasn't working. "I was," she admitted quietly. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be sneaky, I just… I remember now that you were spending so much time away from Trunks and I and I was trying so hard to be understanding and supportive and I _know_ you are doing your best! I may not have told you that, but I knew then too but… We lashed out at each other so much during this time last time. I hate that. I know neither of us meant it, it's this place and all the stress.

"I wanted to know what it was you discuss with everyone else and leave me in the dark with all of your plans. I know you do it so that I won't worry about you and you want me to think you've got everything figured out but it hurt…!" she went off and began to cry even though she'd promised herself that she would not break down in front of him.

Vegeta sat there next to her uncomfortably, watching her cry. He had no idea how to react or how he could comfort her or even if he _should_ comfort her. If she'd spent the last six years being mistreated, she probably didn't want to be touched at all. "What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Things have already been set in motion."

"If you only change a few things, then none of it will ever happen! Please, Vegeta... Who knows where we'd be now in my time if we made only a couple of different decisions?" she said, pulling herself together. "By now, maybe you'd be king and I'd be your queen, safe in your arms. Maybe we'd have another child or two? I don't know, but please don't brush this off. Please change your course Vegeta. Don't let our family be destroyed a second time."

He looked at her and considered her desperate plea. He could tell she meant and believed everything she had just told him. What if she was just crazy though? Crazy people believed their stories. However her last statement about her being safe with him was enough to make him consider that maybe he should seriously consider another option. He had a plan in place for her and Trunks, apparently it was not good enough, he thought in dismay.

"It was _me_ that failed you," she said, not wanting him to feel the need to take the blame for everything. "You did not fail us. Just get Trunks and your Bulma off this planet _before_ you leave. I already told Bardock too so he and his family can leave with Chi-Chi and whatever happens here, at least we will be alright. You will know better how to defeat these androids you will come across. I have given Bardock the schematics, plans and everything I know about how they were made and what they are capable of and I have enclosed a copy for Bulma as well so that you both can go over them and study them and know what you are up against." She said shakily, taking out her notebook from her bag she'd been carrying and handing it to him.

"What good will this do?" he asked bitterly, taking it and absentmindedly flipping through it. "I am to leave here in two weeks."

"I know, but it's better than noting and at least you won't be going in blind," she said. "See what Bardock and your Bulma come up with."

Vegeta nodded as he continued to flip through the notebook, though it was too dark to discern much.

"If she's going to give you a hard time over leaving, can you give me, or _her_ this?" she asked, handing Vegeta an envelope containing the letter she had written to herself. She needed to wrap this up and go back home. It was far too heartbreaking seeing him and talking with him. As the moment dragged on, she was feeling compelled to spill everything to him even though she was not comfortable with doing that. "It was _me_ that pushed and insisted that I come here with you and I'm sorry. I should have listened and been more understanding. This letter will tell her that. It says everything I already warned you about; you can open it up and read it too if you really want to, but just be aware, I did add a few details for her benefit in the hopes of convincing her to leave that I did not disclose to you in order to not upset you any further."

Vegeta frowned deeply at the envelope in her hand and looked back at her, very much disturbed. "What _kind_ of details?" he asked quietly.

"Just more specific things that happened to me after you left me here. Your other self doesn't even know the majority of it; I never told him before he went into the regeneration tank and if we ever find a way out, I hope to never, _ever_ tell him some of it. It would hurt him far too much and you too if you read it. I only included it so as to maybe scare her enough that hopefully it will help you to convince her to go."

Vegeta nodded, his face still taken over by a pained expression over everything she had just told him.

"Don't dwell on it and don't read the letter then," she said quickly. "If you succeed and get her out of here before you leave, it will never happen. So there's no point in you knowing; though I already know that she still won't want to leave you."

"Stupid woman," he nodded in agreement.

"I know, I'm not trying to be stupid now, Vegeta," she sighed regretfully. "I know it's a bit late for me, but it's not too late for you and for your timeline. I'm trying to give you an advantage."

He looked at her carefully, unsure what to say to her. He was afraid to ask her anything more, for fear of a horrible answer. He felt torn between being thankful that she had done all this to warn him and hopefully change their predicament, and feeling a combination of rage, guilt and dread at knowing that he had ultimately failed her and his son in the other timeline.

Vegeta wished there was something he could do for her to help her as she was attempting to help him now; god he loved this woman! She had risked much to do this for him; he could not let anything worse happen to her, nor did he want this outcome for his now family.

"Do you have anything to be used as protection for yourself?" He asked. It was the only thing he could think of to say. While there wasn't much to be done in terms of undoing her situation. at least he wanted to know that she could take care of herself from any further assault against her.

"Not really," she shook her head. "The plasma pendant wasn't very effective and I have no place to discreetly plug it in to keep it charged. They also check me over all the time to make sure I'm not carrying anything because I recently sliced someone's neck open with a small knife."

Vegeta winced and looked at her in shock at that revelation, asking himself again if he was dreaming or if maybe he had drank too much this evening at the banquet. "Good," was all he managed to say once he was able to say anything.

She shrugged. "It wasn't all good. I ended up in a regeneration tank for a few hours as a result. That was a few weeks back; but it's what pushed me to make this trip."

"I am glad you did, woman," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No, not really," she shook her head. "Just please take my visit seriously. Oh, I took a few flight suits and a light armor from your room. Just if you notice it missing, it was me."

"You may take with you anything you need."

"I might have taken some wine too," she added with a small smile.

"Hmmn," he nodded. He didn't care about that.

"Go back now," she said gently to him, standing up. "She's asleep, but not angry at you. Trust me. We had the most amazing make up sex when you got back."

He felt his cheeks redden a little from embarrassment at her forwardness. "And where will you go?"

"I have to go back now. Trunks and Tarble will be back soon and I need to plan out the final details of our escape. I've done everything I needed with this trip. I needed to talk to Bardock about that tank and he gave me some very useful information and I came to warn you and grab a few things and that's about it. My mission here is done."

He nodded and stood as well.

"Can I ask you for just one thing before I leave?"

"What's that?"

She took a few steps closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. It took him a moment to respond, but he awkwardly hugged her back, holding her close to him. His heart sank as she clung to him; she felt more breakable and delicate than usual.

Bulma breathed in deeply, partly in wanting to savor his familiar and comforting scent and also trying to keep her breaths even and her own emotions at bay. It felt _so good_ to be close to him and in his arms. She felt safe and sheltered in a way she had not known since before he had left to go face Cold.

They remained that way for several moments before she let him go. "Thank you," she said. "I know you must think I'm crazy and weak but I really needed that just now."

He nodded once at her, unsure what to say. "You still look adequate."

"Thanks," she smiled, even though she knew he was lying.

He frowned slightly at her as he watched her carefully. "Why is it when we are separated, you feel the need to butcher your hair?"

She shrugged, realizing that he was right. She had chopped her hair when they had been separated right after they'd been married. "I don't know. I never really thought about it, actually. It was just in the way and I..."

"You didn't want to be noticed?" he asked, sensing that there was more to it than simply that.

She nodded. "I'm alright," she said, smoothing out her short hair, hoping it didn't look _that_ terrible. After seeing her past self this evening, she was feeling exceptionally self-conscious in his presence. Especially now that she knew he was watching her carefully, reading and analyzing every reaction and movement she put off. As always, Vegeta never missed anything. "It's done. I umm… I took care of it. No one is bothering me anymore."

Vegeta looked at her long and hard before nodding once at her in understanding. "You killed someone who… hurt you? That's whose neck you cut open?"

"Yea," she sighed and began to feel a rush of anxiety rush through her at the mentioning of the topic. "It took me a while to get to that point, but I finally put an end to it."

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at her tone. He couldn't imaging his mate killing anyone. "Good," he commended her. "You should have never had to do something like that, but if anyone else touches you, end them. Do not ever hesitate and do not ever feel any guilt over it."

"I know," she said quietly, the side of her mouth turning up slightly. Of course that would be Vegeta's advice on the matter. She'd deep down always known that and yet she'd taken so long to find the courage to do it. "I don't regret killing him, I regret finding myself in such a situation in the first place…"

Vegeta grit his teeth and looked at the letter she had given him and decided that he would read it later on when he was alone, since she did not feel comfortable telling him any specifics on what had actually happened to her. He only hoped it was not as bad as what he was already fearing.

"I have to go now," she said, taking a capsule out of her pocket and tossing it on the ground in front of him. Her time machine appearing suddenly before them.

"That's it?" he asked, looking at it with interest.

"That's it," she confirmed. "It took me years, but I did it. I still can't believe it actually worked."

"You came up with it, why would it not have worked?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, feeling uncomfortable for some reason by the subtle compliment from him. "What if it had blown up or I got lost in some void in time or space or something? Then I'd never make it back; I still might not, don't know yet. Though…" she shrugged again, not finishing her thought as she looked down at the ground at her feet.

Vegeta frowned at that. Things were so bad for her that she'd not only risked the possibility of not being able to go back but it seemed the better option if she _didn't_ make it back? Her tone and unfinished thought was not lost on him and his heart broke for her.

Despite remaining mostly neutral this whole time, he was truly shaken to the core and reached for her cautiously. "You need to get back to our son," he said softly, but in a firm tone that did not leave room for debate. "You will make it back and find a way out. Leave me behind if you must. You are urging me to make different decisions in this time line so that things will turn out different, I am urging you to leave if you cannot figure out a better solution. Do not feel guilt over that if you must leave me behind in order to help yourself and our son."

"I can't," she cried, wrapping her arms around his waist again and burying her head in his chest and wept. "You and the boys are all I have. I won't be able to live with myself."

Vegeta sighed as she cried and rested his chin on top of her head. This was madness. He could not remember the last time he had felt so helpless and he sympathized with his other self in this horrible timeline she had come from. All the strength and power and training in the world had not been enough to keep them safe. Even now, he felt torn. He wanted to help her, but he did not want to leave his family. Especially knowing what he knew now.

"Just make some different decisions," she said, picking up somewhat on his thoughts. "I have a way out I have been planning for some time. I just need to get the boys to help me out with a few things and then we'll be out; _all_ of us. You need to stay here and make sure things turn out differently, for the better. That is why I came."

"Hmmn," he grunted, letting her go as she stepped away from him.

Bulma sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to break down in front of you; I know how much you hate that."

"Given the circumstances," he commented. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Right, well I need to go and so do you. Be kind to each other, don't let the stress of everything make you both say and do things you may regret."

"You be safe," he replied with a nod, folding the envelope she had given him and sliding it into his pocket.

"I will." She promised as she stepped into her machine and started it up, thankful that it started up as easily as it had the first time she'd used it. She pressed a button on the scouter and selected the coordinates of Cold's base, where she had come from. It should be as simple as that, being that she had saved the previous location.

Bulma looked at Vegeta a moment and smiled at him before pressing the button for the machine to take off and within a second, she was gone.

Vegeta remained standing in the same spot for several moments after she had disappeared in her machine. He could not sense her at all anywhere; she _was_ gone. He hoped she had made it back safely to wherever she had come from and that she would be able to get herself out as easily and she had out off to him that it would be.

Taking only another moment to gather himself despite being sufficiently and deeply disturbed, he promptly and brusquely marched back to his personal quarters where Bulma was already asleep. He _needed_ to see her for himself and reassure himself that she was alright.

He shrugged out of his clothing and crawled into bed next to her, pulling her close and hugging her tightly in relief that she was alright and as though if he kept her close to him the future that he had just been told about wouldn't happen.

"Vegeta," she murmured sleepily, turning in his arms so she was facing him. "I'm sorry for-"

Her apology was cut off as his mouth descended upon hers as he kissed her urgently as though his very life depended on it. _ **No, I am sorry.**_

Not arguing, she wrapped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and kissed him back fiercely in reciprocation. She frowned slightly as she felt his lips trembling against hers as he continued to kiss her deeply, almost frantically as though he would never get the opportunity to kiss her again. What was wrong with him? Had she upset him that much earlier during their argument after the banquet?

His hands caressed, groped and kneaded her everywhere they could reach in a way that was desperate and almost hectic in his manner. He was usually so gentle with her that this sudden intensive mad rush and pace of things jarred her from this otherwise welcomed reunion after their argument, promising fulfilment and bliss; instead, this almost felt like… _goodbye_. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said against her mouth, his voice strained with emotion he was trying so hard to keep at bay. Now that he was with her and the full weight of what the other Bulma had told him began to weigh on him, he began to feel himself beginning to unravel.

"Hmm, I know, but I didn't mean what I said about-"

 _ **Forget about it,**_ he growled in her mind, not wanting to break his lips from hers as he kissed her within an inch of her life. _ **I need you now, woman. So much!**_

Bulma was still wondering what brought this almost desperate mood on, despite his ministrations. How long had he been gone? Had his father come and said some even worse things to him?

 _ **Never mind,**_ he said to her, having picked up on her thoughts as he continued to enrapture her. _ **I will tell you later; for right now, you are mine. You are safe and sound and that is all that matters.**_

"Whoa, ok what happened, Vegeta?" she asked out loud, grabbing the sides of his face between her hands and making him stop and look at her. "What happened when you left here that has you so freaked out?"

He shook his head and growled at her. "We can discuss it later. Right now I just want to forget about everything beyond you and me and this room. Is that so much to ask?"

"No, but I've never seen you this... Frantic before," she replied. "You're scaring me."

His hands worked their way down between her legs and he slipped a finger inside her, playing with her insides, his assault on her body distracting her from her questions on his odd behavior. He needed to lose himself in her now; he needed to confirm to himself that she was still here, that nothing had happened yet.

She gasped as his tail wrapped around one of her thighs, separating her legs for him as his hands roamed her body needily. Bulma wrapped her arms around his neck as he entered her slowly, his mouth lingering on hers as she moaned into his mouth.

He made love to her slowly, desperately wanting to savor every moment as though it would be the last time they would be together like this; his tail wrapping itself tightly around her waist, keeping their bodies as close as physically possible without actually fusing into one another.

After they were both sated and had calmed down from the euphoria of their union, he took her in his arms and held her close. He wasn't even sure how to tell her what had happened. Not only did he feel he could not face her and tell what the future held in store for her but how did he tell her without sounding completely insane?

-0-0-0-

The trip back home felt jerkier and seemed to take longer than the initial trip. Bulma wondered if that was the case or if it just felt that way because she was so mentally and emotionally drained by this point. She felt good about the trip, like she had achieved everything she had hoped to for so long. Even if it wouldn't change her current situation, she had warned them and that had to make a difference, wouldn't it?

It had been bittersweet seeing and talking with Vegeta and Bardock again. It made her miss them even more though it also had given her a new motivation to work even harder at getting everyone out of there. Bardock's council about Vegeta being in an even worse state than what she had thought made her feel uneasy and almost more afraid of moving him.

She decided that Vegeta would be her last priority. She needed to coordinate with the boys their escape plan, get the ship ready and _then_ figure out the best way to move him and take him with them. She figured her best option at the moment would be too break him out and leave immediately and worry about everything else once they were off that planet and in space.

The ship suddenly landed and was still. Immediately, she shielded her eyes and as soon as they adjusted, she realized immediately that she wasn't on Vegeta-sei and it _definitely_ wasn't Cold's base, she thought to herself in panic; yet her surroundings were eerily familiar. So much so that she felt a weave of anxiety wash through her and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end.

Something wasn't right.

She wasn't where she was supposed to be, but she wasn't sure _where_ she was, exactly. Well, she did and she didn't she realized in a surreal moment of horror and wonder as she got out of the time machine and stood there on the green grass staring at the very familiar grounds of Capsule Corporation, her old home on Earth.

-0-0-0-

 

 

 

 


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So sorry it's been so long between updates… I didn't mean for it. I have been bogged down with a TON of stuff to do. Sad thing is, I must admit that this chapter has been mostly done for a while, but I needed to make some essential adjustments to it before I could post it and going back and revamping and rewriting things to make it fit was discouraging as well and not much fun. Please read the Authors note at the bottom for further insight on why I needed to change things for this chapter... I don't want to say anything to spoil this chapter before you all read it.
> 
> Please enjoy! I am overall extremely happy with this one!

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.** _

 

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 42** _

Bulma carefully exited the time machine, frowning in confusion as she looked around.

This didn't look like Vegeta-sei and it definitely wasn't Cold's base, she thought to herself in panic, yet her surroundings were eerily familiar. So much so that she felt a weave of anxiety wash through her and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end.

Something wasn't right.

She wasn't where she was supposed to be, but she wasn't sure where she was, exactly. Well, she did and she didn't she realized in a surreal moment of horror and wonder as she stood there on the green grass staring at the very familiar grounds of Capsule Corporation.

Bulma felt a wave of nausea at the thought that she was lost or maybe she was losing her mind altogether; that was entirely possible. She capsulated the machine, not wanting to leave it out in the open while she figured out where she was, exactly.

She felt like a deer in front of headlights as she looked up and saw a little girl toddler with a mop of blue hair pulled up in messy pigtails run across the front yard.

 _How did I manage to go this far back,_ she asked herself in disbelief as she looked at the toddler version of herself in the yard on her own. _Figures I'm all on my own,_ she sighed, shaking her head. Her mother hadn't always been the most attentive and Bulma hadn't been what she had expected. Mrs. Briefs had always wanted a little girl to dress up like a pretty little doll and take with her everywhere she went. What she'd gotten was a pretty little girl who was very independent and would rather play in the mud or take apart household items than spend the afternoon having a spa day with her mother having her nails and toes painted and doing other typical girlish mother-daughter things.

Bulma shook her head and chuckled at herself. Damn she had been a cute little kid!

"Bra!" she heard someone call out and around the building appeared a teenaged boy with lavender hair.

Bulma frowned as she watched the scene unfold. The boy looked like an older version of Trunks and why was he calling her Bra? Was he some distant relative she couldn't remember and he was calling her by a nickname? He was far too young to be her father.

The little girl giggled and ran away from him and straight towards Bulma, who was so stunned by what she was seeing that she didn't have the sense to hide.

The little girl called Bra, rather than Bulma, stopped in front of her and looked right at her. Those huge blue eyes looked at her in recognition. "Momma!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up expectantly wanting Bulma to pick her up.

"I'm... I'm not..." she stuttered.

"Whoa," exclaimed the lavender haired boy as he'd caught up to the little girl.

Once again, Bulma froze, almost petrified as she looked at the boy and some kind of instinct told her that this was no distant, forgotten about family member. Sure, the signature lavender hair and blue eyes were a trait of the Briefs family, but the rest of this boy's facial features came from _Vegeta._ He had the same slightly darker skin than hers and the same straight nose and firm jawline. This wasn't a _boy._ He was either a teenager or a very young man. She was struck by how handsome he was. _Of course he's drop dead gorgeous! He's got only the best genes!_

"Trunks?" she managed to say.

"Yea," he nodded. "Are you from the future?" he asked, not all that startled or suspicious of her, but rather interested.

"I-I-I don't know," she answered truthfully, looking down at the little girl who was jumping up and down, just begging to be picked up.

"You can pick her up if you want," he said and she was floored by his trusting demeanour, but picked her up anyway, holding her so she could take a good look at her. From what she could tell, this little girl was the spitting image of herself at this age. But this _Trunks_ was definitely not her father so this little girl wasn't her. Which confused her. How could there be a teenage Trunks on a planet that had been destroyed _years_ before he had been born? _This doesn't make any sense. Am I losing my mind?_

"Are you a time traveller?" the boy asked her calmly, smiling as he watched her look Bra over in wonder.

"Not really," she replied. "Umm, I think I'm lost. Is this Earth?"

"Yes it is," he nodded.

 _It wasn't destroyed,_ she asked herself. "What year is it?"

"It's 785."

"785," she repeated to herself. Earth had never made it to the year 785. _What the fuck?_ However, how did she end up here, in a universe that technically didn't even exist anymore? "I'm sorry, I'm not crazy, I swear."

"Woman!" A loud voice boomed from across the yard and the sound and familiarity of it made her blood run cold and her hair stand on end.

Walking out of a spherical structure that closely resembled the gravity room she had made all those years ago, not far from where they were standing, was Vegeta.

He was damp from his workout and it shocked her to see him in sweatpants and running shoes instead of his preferred flight suit and armour. Even on Callisto he had _always_ insisted on dressing in full armour no matter how casual or hot outside it had been. Yet here he was dressed in casual Earth clothes, _gym clothes_ to be more specific. _How is he here on Earth?_ She wondered as he strode towards them, giving her a very suspicious look.

As he came closer, she could not help but notice how _good_ he looked. He was definitely older, more mature looking, but still devastatingly handsome and she wondered how old he was; to her, he didn't look a day over thirty years old. His neck, shoulders and chest were thicker than what she remembered but he still looked good. Not overdone. His sharp, dark eyes looked her over critically; first with caution, but it changed to curiosity by the time he made it to them, carrying a clean, dry shirt.

"Vegeta," she said almost dumbly to him.

"What are you doing here, Woman?" he asked, though not in anger. He had sensed her energy and had put a stop to his workout, thinking that she had come home early from work and was hoping that was an indication that an early dinner would follow. Except the _woman_ who was present, wasn't _his_ woman; however her energy signature said otherwise.

"I think I'm lost," she admitted as he took Bra, who was reaching for him eagerly, from her. She watched in amazement as he took her easily and without complaint. "I shouldn't be here, I'm sorry."

"Where did you come from and why are you here?" he asked pointedly, his eyes guarded and his face stony as though expecting bad news.

"It's kind of a long story. I went back to warn you and..." she couldn't finish the sentence, as she was overcome with emotion then. She was lost and confused and still overly emotional from just speaking with _her_ Vegeta in their past timeline probably not more than a half hour ago and was now she was hit with seeing a nearly grown up Trunks and a Vegeta on _Earth_ with a little mini-Bulma. Her mind had already put together the possibility that she was possibly Trunks' little sister; nothing else made sense, but she refused to entertain that thought until it was confirmed.

"Why is mama crying?" Bra asked in concern.

"Trunks, take your sister inside," Vegeta said, handing her to Trunks.

She fussed a little, but ultimately let Trunks take her. "Let's see if grandma has anything yummy for us," he said to her and they headed into the house.

 _Grandma,_ she thought. What she wouldn't do to see her own mother right about now.

Vegeta observed her quietly as she looked in wonder after Trunks and Bra and at the house and grounds as though she were seeing it for the first time in decades and then reminded himself that it very well may have been decades, depending on where she had come from.

This version of Bulma was either the same age or a little younger than his own, but he couldn't tell for sure. She couldn't be that much older however and so he wondered what she could have possibly been wanting to warn him about.

 _Not again,_ he grumbled inwardly. It had been five years since Buu and while part of him would love to have an excuse for a good fight, another, more _mature_ side of him cringed at the thought. He was happy and content. It was peaceful. He had _finally_ learned what it was to have a family and how to _be_ a part of a family. While he wouldn't hesitate to stand up and protect his family, home and this planet at all costs, he really didn't want to hear about some sort of _new_ impending doom about to befall them. Last time with Future Trunks and the battle against Zumasu and Goku Black had been enough. _Although it has been a while since anything bad has happened,_ he reasoned. _Maybe we are due._

He continued to look at her; she was too thin, her hair too short, though _his_ Bulma seemed to prefer to wear her hair short for the last several years as well, though it looked as though this Bulma had just hacked it short with a pair of kitchen scissors and hadn't taken much care in the style; which was very _un_ Bulma like.

While still attractive, he could tell she had been through a lot. She looked rough and tired and had a hardness to her that set off alarms in the back of his mind. He recognized that haunted, troubled look of hardship and tragedy that seemed to surround her. It didn't look good on her, on _his_ woman and immediately his protective instincts kicked in. She may not be _his_ mate, but she obviously was in another timeline or dimension. _Interesting,_ he thought as he noticed an obvious bite mark on her neck, very similar to the one he had inflicted on _his_ Bulma not so long ago.

He also noticed her right hand was mangled and he frowned at the thought that someone had possibly hurt her. He hoped it hadn't been him that had done it; the gods knew he had a bad temper. Especially in his early days on this planet. While he himself had never laid a hand on her to hurt her physically, he could see it happening in another timeline during one of their viscous arguments. He'd usually had the good sense to up and leave if he'd even had the slightest thought of harming her. He'd have hoped his counterpart in any timeline would have the same sense, but he didn't know.

 _ **No, it wasn't you,**_ he heard her voice in his mind. It was very faint, like she was far away, but it was there. It wasn't until more recently that he had allowed a bond with Bulma to form. Even then, he was still wary of it, not comfortable with having her in his head at all times. It was a new thing they were both working on in any case and it freaked him out more than just a little that not only had she picked up on his thoughts, but that she had replied so easily.

It unnerved him somewhat that in another timeline he had allowed himself to open up that much to another. However if there was ever anyone, of course it would be her.

"What was the reason for your trip?" he asked her, not wanting to dwell on the implications behind a complete bond.

She looked at him a moment, debating on how much to tell him. At least this time he seemed to understand that it was her and she didn't have to convince him. "I... this is going to sound completely crazy, but-"

"You built a time machine in the future to warn us of some impending doom," he said dryly, putting on his shirt.

Bulma noticed a bad scar on his chest where his heart had to have been and her first instinct was to ask him or to touch it but she refrained and reminded herself that this wasn't _her_ Vegeta.

"Yea, something like that," she replied, still trying to figure out how and why she had ended up here of all places and how did she explain that to him. "Except that I already warned them so I should be back where I'm supposed to be, not _here._ "

Vegeta nodded, relief washing through him that she wasn't the bearer of bad news. Or at least she wasn't for this timeline anyway. "So where _should_ you be then?" he asked.

Bulma decided that since he wasn't the least bit unnerved about the whole time travel thing that maybe it was alright to tell him a little bit. If she did that, maybe he would let her get in the lab or talk with her father and fix this. "I don't even know, because this timeline shouldn't even exist," she said. "In my timeline, Earth was destroyed. Some of us were taken, me being one of them; but all of this is gone. How are you even here?"

"Asks the woman who has randomly shown up in my backyard," he chuckled dryly, raising an eyebrow in amusement at her.

"I'm so confused," she sighed, shaking her head and running her hands through her short hair. "So you live here, with _me_ I'm assuming? And those are _our_ kids?"

"Correct," he nodded. "Their names are Trunks and Bra,"

"Ya, I know Trunks," she replied. "Well, my son's name is Trunks, though he is much younger than your Trunks but he looks exactly the same. We don't have a daughter,"

Vegeta blinked several times. _How old was she if Trunks from her timeline was younger but there was no Bra?_ So she was younger than he thought.

"In my timeline..." she started, still not knowing where to begin. "Is Vegeta-sei still here?" she asked, wondering if somehow Earth hadn't been destroyed and they had decided to put roots down here to escape his father's hatred of her. But that didn't make sense. How would they have met then if Earth was still present?

Vegeta nearly turned white at her question. "No," he replied with a frown. "It was destroyed long ago, when I was a boy."

"Oh," she said. "Well that means I'm really lost then, because that's where I came from. I went back in time to Vegeta-sei to warn you about some things and to get you to change your path because where I am now, is the worst thing that could have happened and I wanted you, or _him_ , sorry, to change it so that things would be different for us."

"You've been to Vegeta-sei?" he asked softly. It had been many years since he had thought about his home planet now that he had come to embrace his life and family on Earth.

"We lived there," she replied. "You found me and brought me there. Your father didn't approve of us being together."

"You know my father?"

Bulma waved her mangled hand in front of him. "You wanted to know who did this, didn't you?"

"He did that?"

"Yup," she nodded. "After sending you out on a war campaign against King Cold that you were meant to fail. I was left behind and the moment he knew you had lost, he came after me and Trunks."

"King Cold?"

"That's right,"

"And Frieza?" he asked, his throat feeling dry.

"You killed him," she answered. "I was pregnant with Trunks and he had me kidnapped. You came for me and ended him,"

So there _was_ a universe where he had been the one to destroy Frieza! "Am I a Super Saiyan?"

"You are," she replied with a nod. "Or you _were."_

"Am I dead?" he asked her, not sure if he wanted the answer or not, though if she was here it was a good possibility. In any future timeline he had crossed paths with, he was always dead.

"No, not dead," she said hesitantly. "But you are heavily sedated in a coma and trapped in a regeneration tank,"

"What!" he exclaimed.

"Ya, I've been there 6 years and am trying to find a way out," she said. "I'm almost ready. I'm just waiting for the boys to get back from a mission and then we are out of there. So I figured that now was a good time to go back and warn our past selves about what will happen if we don't change things. I did, but now I'm here."

Vegeta nodded as he looked at her in wonder. _How is it possible that an alternative universe existed where Vegeta-sei had been spared and Earth had been destroyed and what are the odds we should still find one another,_ he said to himself in shock. _Of course we would find one another in another universe or dimension,_ he added, the irony and cheesiness of the implications behind that notion not lost on him.

"You need to talk to the woman," he said awkwardly.

She smiled at him, knowing exactly who he meant but it was nice to hear a complete stranger version of him call her that. It felt so familiar. "That won't mess things up?"

"Why would it?" he asked. "If you want to go back to where you came from, she is likely the only person who can help."

"Ya, but it won't cause a problem if I talk to _myself_?" she asked, confused.

"I do not see why," he shrugged. "An adult, future version of Trunks travelled back to see us and held the baby version of the Trunks you just saw and everything is fine,"

"Oh," she replied. "I thought it would cause a paradox or-"

"Rip a hole in the fabric of reality?" he interrupted her sarcastically, a touch of humour in his tone.

"Something like that," she nodded, giving him a funny look.

"You and the boy are obsessed with that stupid program about the man who travels around the galaxy in a blue call box." He said in a bored tone.

"Doctor Who is _still on?"_ she gasped. It had been one of her favourite programs back in the day before her home had been destroyed.

"Unfortunately," he deadpanned.

"Oh! Did he ever find-"

"Ask her yourself when you see her," he interrupted. "I try my utmost to avoid that tiresome program."

She chuckled at him as she could picture her own Vegeta not caring for that show either. "Okay," she nodded.

"I will call her; she should be heading home soon anyway," he said, taking what looked like a Bluetooth earpiece out of his pocket and placing it in his ear.

Bulma had to hold back a chuckle at him. It was so strange seeing him using Earth technology!

"I need you to come home as soon as possible," he said abruptly without greeting. There was a lengthy pause. "This has nothing to do with dinner... Trust me, you'll _want_ to be here. We have a rather _interesting_ visitor,"

There was another long pause and Bulma again had to keep herself from laughing at him as she could tell he was getting frustrated with the person on the other line, who she assumed was her. Knowing herself as well as she did, she must have been deep in the middle of some project; she never wanted to leave her work for even a food or bathroom break.

" _Woman_ ," he growled quietly in a warning tone. " _You_ insisted that I keep this device on me so I am able to contact you in case of emergency... Right… _That_ was not an emergency... Well, I did not constitute _that_ as an emergency, this however _is._ "

Amused, she listened to him bicker with her for another few minutes until the person on the other line relented and agreed to drop whatever it was she was doing and head home.

"Insolent wench," he growled, taking the Bluetooth device out of his ear and stuffing it back into his pocket.

She snickered at him. "You love it,"

"I cannot believe there are _two_ of you, nay _three_ of you that exist in this universe," he said grudgingly, giving her a _look,_ though she recognized his dry humour enough to see right through him.

"Nice to know you are the same cantankerous Saiyan no matter what timeline I go to," she teased as she followed him into the house to wait for the other version of herself to arrive home and was almost moved to tears to see that even though this was a completely different reality, her home was almost _exactly_ as she remembered it. There were a few minor differences of course, but the similarities were uncanny. Even the _smell_ of the place was the same and it enveloped her so strongly, bringing her right back to a time and place she had nearly forgotten about. Yet instead of upsetting her, it comforted her somehow. She was _home._

Vegeta led her into the living room where Trunks and Bra were sitting and watching some program on tv. She took a seat on one of the opposite couches.

Bra looked at her curiously. "You're not my momma," she said to her, though not in a mean tone.

"No, sweetie, I'm not," she replied with a strained smile.

"Where do you come from?" she asked, getting up and boldly sitting down right next to her.

"From somewhere far away from here," she answered, looking at the little girl in wonder, still finding it odd that another version of her somewhere had a daughter.

"Did you get lost?" she asked.

"Yes,"

"Did you come here to ask my momma to help you get home?" she asked, her eyes wide and the obvious pride she had for her mother just beamed.

"Not on purpose, no," she said. "It just kind of worked out that way."

"Well if she can't, you can stay here," she said in an authoritative tone. "Then I can have _two_ mums!"

"Enough," Vegeta growled, scooping her up and walking to the other side of the room with the talkative little girl.

"Can I get you anything?" Trunks asked her, distracting her from her trans-like stare at Vegeta and Bra.

"Just a water maybe?" she said.

Trunks got up to head for the kitchen.

"How old is she?" she asked Vegeta.

"I'm five," she answered.

"Going on thirteen," Vegeta grumbled at her. "Why don't you go change before your mother gets home, you're filthy."

"Okay," she groaned in an over exaggerated tone before racing out of the room and up the stairs.

"She's adorable," Bulma said, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Good thing," he nodded in agreement. "Because she's a pain in the ass."

Bulma chuckled at him as she blinked back a few tears that were threatening to fall. Despite his surly demeanour, she could tell he was completely enamoured with the little girl.

"Now you see what you have in store, I suppose," he said awkwardly.

"No," she shook her head; her features clouding almost instantly. "As much as I'd love nothing more, I can't have more,"

Vegeta snorted. "I will be initially… _displeased,_ but it will pass," he said after an awkward pause, assuming that it was because of the other version of himself that she said she could not have another child. The gods knew that he had certainly never expected to have another child after Trunks.

"No, I actually physically _can't,"_ she clarified. "Something happened, and I won't be able to again even if we do get out of there."

Vegeta was quiet, not having a clue of what to say to her now. He had only been trying to make small talk with her until his Bulma arrived and it had resulted in him knowing far more than he thought he should. However her admission bothered him. He had assumed she just hadn't had Bra yet. Now it seemed she never would? A universe where Bra didn't exist wasn't right to him somehow.

"It's okay," she sighed, picking up on his discomfort over something so personal. "How could you know?"

He shrugged, frowning at her and giving her a look she couldn't quite place; was it pity or disbelief? "I am sorry, this must be difficult for you."

"It is," she nodded. "I'm okay though,"

He crossed his arms and looked away from her, knowing that she was lying. She may not be his mate from this timeline or universe, but her mannerisms were exactly the same and he could read her like an open book; she most certainly was _not_ okay. Part of him wanted to know everything about where she'd come from and how she'd ended up this way, but a part of him cautioned him against it.

They heard the front door open just as Trunks came back with a glass of water for her.

"Alright, Vegeta," she heard from the hallway. "What couldn't wait for me to come home?"

"In here," he called out, smirking at Bulma. He couldn't wait to see his mate's reaction.

Bulma stood up mere seconds before the other Bulma walked into the living room and came to an abrupt halt and was stunned to silence at the sight of... herself.

Vegeta snorted in amusement at his Bulma; it was very rare for her to be rendered speechless. "Well?"

"Well... you could have been a little bit more specific," she replied, rolling her eyes at him. "Hi, sorry," she said, walking towards the other Bulma.

"Hi," she said and found herself intimidated by the confidant, professional looking version of herself. She was well dressed, had a short, trendy bob haircut. "I'm so sorry to intrude,"

"It's alright," she said kindly. "What brings you here?"

"It's a long story, but I built a time machine to go back and warn us about the future and on my way back, I somehow ended up here," she explained awkwardly. At least they didn't think she was crazy.

"Where is it?" Bulma asked in interest. "I'm sure it can't be that difficult to figure out with the help of the lab to configure a few things."

"I have it in a capsule in my pocket. It might not be that simple though," she said, her other self's confident, carefree attitude scaring her just a little. "The universe I'm from is completely different than this one. In my universe, Earth was destroyed, I survived, Vegeta and I found each other and ya. I shouldn't be here because _here_ doesn't even exist in my universe, or timeline anymore."

"Awe! I _told_ you we were meant to be together, Vegeta," she cooed. "We _are_ soul mates after all!"

"Uh huh," he snorted, his cheeks turning slightly pink, though they both saw right through his grouchy façade.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and could use a drink," the other Bulma said. "Let's have some dinner and then I will take a look at your machine."

"Sure," she nodded. A part of her panicked inwardly because she wasn't sure how she would react to seeing her mother after such a long time. "Is... Momma going to be okay with me...?"

"Oh yea, she'll be fine," the other Bulma replied, waving her hand dismissively. "We had a 17 year old version of Trunks show up and stay with us for a little while when _our_ Trunks was just a baby. She was fine with it."

"That didn't mess anything up?"

"Nope, not that I know of," she shrugged. "Is mom alright in your time or is she gone?"

Bulma was quiet a moment. "As far as I know, she's okay. She and dad are happily living on another planet. I was supposed to go back there, but things didn't really work out as planned."

"You did not listen," Vegeta mumbled looking knowingly at her.

Bulma turned and looked at him in shock at his assumption, even though it was essentially bang on. "No, I suppose I didn't."

He shook his head as he looked at her and the look in his eyes was more disappointment than anything, which only made her feel worse.

"It was complicated," she said quickly and defensively.

"It is _always_ complicated with you," he glowered, stalking off into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about him," Bulma said to her. "We've had quite the colourful story, him and I. It took us a while, but I think we've finally figured it out."

Bulma frowned a bit at that.

"I'll tell you later," she promised with a wink.

"Is everyone ready for dinner?" she heard her mother's distinctive bubbly voice from the kitchen and she froze, looking at her other self as she felt an overwhelming torrent of emotion well up inside her at that moment.

"Would you rather have dinner with me in the lab?" Bulma asked her discreetly, sensing her discomfort.

"I-I think that would be better, yes," she said quietly, covering her mouth as she felt herself begin to cry. She wanted nothing more than to see her mother, but now faced with the possibility of seeing her, she was overwhelmed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Bulma said happily. "I'm anxious to see your machine and hear all about your timeline! Sounds fascinating."

Bulma nodded, though she of course felt it was anything but fascinating. She wanted to hear about _this_ timeline.

Resident Bulma told her mother that she had an unexpected project that had come up in the lab that required her immediate and undivided attention. She'd just come home to grab some food and go back to the lab. She packed everything up, including some wine and whisky, capsulized everything and was ready to leave.

"Come join us later if you want," she said to Vegeta, brushing her hand on his shoulder as she walked by him. He was still standing at the entrance of the kitchen watching the visitor version of Bulma carefully.

"Hmmn," he nodded once but did not commit one way or another.

"Right, well I'll probably be late getting back so don't worry," she shrugged. "We'll probably end up talking all night comparing notes about you like a couple of gossipy ex-girlfriends. Nothing that you'd be interested in anyway." She winked.

He rolled his eyes at her and went to take a seat. It was not unusual for her to spend the night at the lab if she had some crazy project she was obsessing over. Sometimes he left her because she would usually pull an all-nighter and sometimes he would go down there and find her asleep at her desk, in which he would usually bring her back with him.

"Well, let's see what we've got here, shall we?" she beamed at Bulma, who followed her out the door.

They walked to the other side of the compound where the lab was. Visitor Bulma asked Resident Bulma about the other universes. She seemed well informed about time travel and other universes and timelines and such, Bulma discovered, and she was immediately set at ease that this other version of herself would figure out a way to get her back to where she belonged.

"Alright, let's see what you've done here," Resident Bulma said, decapsuling the time machine. She shook her head and looked back at her with a smile. "Looks almost _exactly_ like the other ones."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"More or less," she nodded. "Here, have something to eat and I'll take a look at the system," she said, handing Visitor Bulma the capsule with dinner. She had been so excited about taking a look at the other time machine that she had forgotten all about the food she'd brought.

"Thanks," Bulma said, taking it and opening it. There was a fine assorted feast of meat, rice, vegetables and buns in small portions just like her mother always made. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she took a bite of a meat roll, a Bunny Briefs staple. She remembered as a child groaning and complaining whenever her mother made them because she made them almost _every night_. Now the familiar taste of it was the most amazing thing in the world.

"You okay?" Bulma asked in concern at the upset expression on her face.

"Yea," she nodded, savouring the roll before swallowing. "There's nothing like mom's home cooking,"

"Mom and her meat rolls," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "They're her favourite."

"I remember _hating_ them by the time I was ten, I was so sick of them, but right now this is the most delicious thing I have ever had," she cried. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually such an emotional basket case."

"It's alright," she said. "Want a drink? I find that usually helps."

"Sure, I'd _love_ one, actually."

Resident Bulma came over to her with two bottles. "Wine or whiskey?"

"I'd normally go for the wine, but I think whiskey is what I need at the moment," she chuckled, drying her eyes. "You would not believe the last twenty four hours or even few years."

"Oh, I can imagine," she sighed, pouring her a healthy amount of liquor in a glass and handing it to her.

"Thank you," she accepted, taking a large sip. "Oh god, I'm so not a whisky gal, but that is _amazing_!"

Resident Bulma giggled at her. "I didn't get into it myself until a few years ago,"

"It's strong, but that's ok. So how did _you_ meet Vegeta?" Bulma asked after taking another sip.

"Well, he showed up here to gather the dragon balls and destroy us, but Goku stopped him," she started. "Then we went to planet Namek to get their dragon balls and we ran into him there too. He was trying to wish for immortality so he could defeat Frieza. He wasn't very nice back then, but now he's one of us and as you can see, he's mellowed out quite a lot."

Bulma frowned. "Dragonballs? And who's Goku?"

Resident Bulma looked at her a moment, intrigued that their worlds were so different. "Goku is a Saiyan who I met when I was about sixteen years old. We didn't know he was Saiyan back then, of course. He was just a strange, very strong little boy with a tail. Do you know anyone by the name of Kakarott by chance?"

"Oh for sure!" Bulma nodded. "He's Vegeta's best friend, or _was_. He's gone now."

"Oh," Resident Bulma replied with a sad frown, looking down into her glass. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was he… trying to selflessly save the world?"

"No," she shook her head. "I guess you could say he selflessly followed Vegeta into a doomed war instead of staying with me like Vegeta had wanted him to. If he had, he might still be alive and I might not have ended up where I did. Lots of things may have turned out differently. They did everything together so of course, he made sure Vegeta didn't leave him behind this _one_ time."

"Sounds like Goku," Bulma nodded. "Or Kakarott, I guess."

"Why do you call him that if you know his name is Kakarott?"

"That was his name when I met him. I guess he had brain damage from when his ship landed here and an old man found him, named him Goku and so that's what we all know him as. It wasn't until he was an adult that a guy named Raditz, claiming to be his brother, showed up here to recruit him. That's when we learned that Goku was a Saiyan from another planet, which wasn't really all that surprising considering he had a tail and his ridiculous strength and abilities compared to the rest of us," she explained with a shrug. "Raditz called him Kakarott and Vegeta still calls him that, but to us he's just Goku so we still call him that."

"Hmm, it's a nice name," Visitor Bulma said thoughtfully. "And so Vegeta was bad?"

" _Oh yea!_ " she chuckled. "About as bad as they come. After Namek, he had nowhere to go, so I kind of felt bad for him and offered him to stay here because I thought he was hot. He did and well, the rest is history. Rocky, bumpy history, but history all the same. What's Vegeta like in your timeline?"

"He wasn't evil," she replied. "Or isn't. He's alive, but incapacitated. He's good, but I could see how he could have become evil. His upbringing wasn't so good. You know about Frieza in this timeline?"

"Oh yea," Resident Bulma nodded. "There's still lots I don't know, but he was Vegeta's tormentor for most of his early life."

"Same with in my world," Bulma sighed. "He killed him eventually and my current situation is the backlash from that."

"So you went to warn him to _not_ kill Frieza?" she asked with a snort. "Good luck with that."

Visitor Bulma chuckled. "No, I didn't go back that far. Just far enough to where we both could have made some very different choices. I don't think there would be any way for me to convince Vegeta to not kill Frieza even if I did go back to that point in our history."

"Good. I was worried for a second that maybe you'd gone back for nothing," she said. "In this timeline, it was Goku who had defeated Frieza and it drove Vegeta nearly to the point of insanity… Or it did until we discovered that Frieza hadn't actually died. He recovered and came back here to exact revenge and it was actually the future version of Trunks that killed him off. He felt a little better after that, but things still bothered him for a long time."

"So tell me about those Dragon balls you mentioned," Bulma said, wanting to change the subject somewhat. A small part of her wanted to know everything she could about this version of Vegeta and herself and the family they had together but another part didn't want to forget to ask her about that. She had mentioned that Vegeta had wanted to make a _wish_. "Why was Vegeta looking for them?"

"You don't have dragon balls in your universe?" she asked, puzzled.

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "I haven't heard of them. What do they do?"

"They are seven magical orbs. Usually scattered all over the planet. When you collect all seven, you can summon a dragon who grants wishes. Some grant only one, some grant three. It depends on their maker and how much power they have."

"Huh," she grunted in wonder. "So who makes these dragon balls?"

"Have you encountered any Nameks?"

Bulma lit up. "Yes! We know a Namek guardian named Piccolo on a planet I stayed on for a while. And there's a Namek child that Gero kidnapped. His name is Dende and he lives in the lab with me. He has the ability to heal. I'm taking him with me when I leave."

This time it was Resident Bulma's turn to gap in surprise over how different their worlds were. "Hmm, well over here, our Namek guardian is Dende and Piccolo is here as well, though it was Dende who created our current dragon balls. The first set was made by a Namek named Kami, who was our planet guardian who made our first set of Dragon Balls until he and Piccolo fused together permanently for a battle. Since then, Dende has been our guardian and he made a new set that can grant three wishes instead of one."

"And they can grant _any_ wish?" Bulma asked.

"Pretty much," she shrugged. "I mean there are _some_ exceptions, but those have to do with the creator. Like when Shenron was first created, he could only grant one wish. He could bring someone back from the dead but only if it was within one year and only if they haven't been revived once already. Now, since Dende upgraded him, he can grant three wishes and multiple people can be brought back, but then I think it's only two wishes you're allowed? I don't remember. I wished for everyone Vegeta destroyed at the tournament to be brought back and that was a few thousand. Then we wished that no one have any memory of it, except for us of course!"

"Vegeta destroyed a bunch of people?" Bulma asked with a frown. "Why?"

"It's a long story and it nearly drove us to split up completely, but we were able to work through it," she said casually. "Actually things have never been better between us ever since then. As horrible as it was at the time, I think we almost _needed_ that to happen to really bring us closer together like we are now. It helped me to better understand and appreciate him and it showed him what he really wanted in his life and helped him realize that being content isn't a bad thing."

Bulma nodded as she recalled this other version of herself telling her earlier that she and Vegeta had had quite a colorful story together. Apparently it was _very_ colorful from the sounds of it.

"After a major battle that Vegeta had obsessed over beforehand and did not do well, he sank into a deep depression. We had Trunks already and he was living here, but we weren't together as a couple at that time. It took him a few years to come out of it, start training again and embrace family life and it was in those seven years we got back together. Trunks was kind of… unplanned I guess you could say. Well, you probably know that, right?"

"Unplanned, yes. But we were together when he was conceived. We've never really been split up except for that time I was taken and Frieza had Dr. Gero brainwashed me into hating Vegeta. That took some time, but we worked through it."

"Sounds interesting," she replied, pouring herself some more whiskey and sitting down next to the other version of herself to have a few bites of dinner.

Instead of going back to work on the time machine, Visitor Bulma shared her experiences of her timeline and in exchange, Resident Bulma shared hers. They were both astonished at how different yet how similar some things were. Like the fact that Chi-Chi and Kakarott had still found each other and had a son named Goten. It saddened Resident Bulma that there was no Gohan, however they both agreed that possibly Goten in the alternate universe _was_ Gohan except they'd never really know unless Bulma was able to get her hands on some dragon balls and reverse everything. _If_ the dragon was able to even do such a thing. Earth's dragon had a one year expiration date on reviving the dead. If she was able to find these dragon balls, would they be able to bring Vegeta-sei back? _Would I even want to?_ She asked herself. If she brought back Vegeta-sei, that meant reviving Vegeta's father as well.

Bulma decided she wouldn't think about the specifics for now. For all she knew, there were no dragon balls in her universe. She'd definitely be asking Dende about it when she got back.

Resident Bulma told her all about her adventures with Kakarott as a little boy, about her childhood sweetheart romance with Yamcha, her trip to Namek, Future Trunks, how she and Vegeta got together. She went into a bit more detail about the battle with Cell and the Androids and how she and Trunks had nearly been killed had it not been for Future Trunks. Finally she told her about Buu and Vegeta letting the wizard Babidi possess him and about how he had realized his mistake and sacrificed himself in an attempt to destroy Buu.

She brought her up to date as well on the revival of Frieza and about their camaraderie with Whis and Beerus.

"Wow," Visitor Bulma commented. "You've had quite the amazing life here."

"Yup," she nodded in agreement. "You too, except for, we'll right now I guess. I'm sorry things didn't go well. Though you did exactly what I'd do in your situation: Build a time machine and go back so another timeline can succeed."

"Yea," she nodded, though she didn't want to tell her that there were more than likely many other things she'd done that this Bulma wouldn't have resorted to. "I can't believe how different Vegeta here is from my time, but I can see it."

"Hmmm, from the way you describe him, it sounds like you got the Vegeta that was meant to be if he hadn't had such a rough life. I mean, he's obviously been through a lot, but he was younger when you met him and still had all those things that are so important to him. You found him before he could be corrupted. I always wished I'd met him when we were younger."

"He seems pretty laid back now, from what I could tell, when we spoke earlier."

"He's great now, but it took us a long time to get here. He's come a long way, and he's still evolving," she agreed. "Just be patient with him when you get out of there. The news that his home and that he lost the opportunity to rule his planet is going to be very hard on him. But on the other hand, maybe you can get your hands on some dragon balls and reverse all that."

"That would be nice,"

Resident Bulma got up and went back to the time machine. They had spent far too much time talking and not enough time working. "Sorry, I'm sure you are anxious to get going."

"Yes and no, to be honest. This is the best company and food I've had in a long time," she admitted guiltily. A part of her really did not want to go back. Even though she had enough to formulate a decent escape plan now. _What if someone noticed I've been gone? What if my escape plan fails and we're caught,_ she thought as a wave of unease washed through her gut. What then? She was sure the consequences would be dire. Would they kill Vegeta off for good as her punishment? Or worse, would they take her actions out on Trunks and Tarble? What if now was the last time she'd have a decent meal and place to stay?

"Well, it is late, do you want to crash and I'll stay up and see if I can figure this out on my own?" she asked. "We've got plenty of guest rooms. Plus I'm sure you'd like a nice shower or a hot bath before you go. No offence, but you look exhausted."

"I am," she admitted. "I don't want to leave you here with all this. As it us, I'm taking up too much of your time."

"Nonsense," she waved her hand. "I was probably going to end up sleeping at the lab tonight anyway. We are putting the final touches on a new line of bots strictly for agriculture. So I haven't been around much as of late."

"Vegeta doesn't mind?" she asked, curiously.

"Not really," she shrugged. "I let him leave to go train on planets far, far away from here with the God of Destruction for months at a time. So he has no say in long absences."

Resident Bulma showed Visitor Bulma to one of the guest suites close to the lab. As with every room at Capsule Corporation, it was equipped with a large queen-sized bed and full en suite bathroom. There was a large TV on the dresser in the bedroom and a small fridge loaded with a variety of beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic as well as snacks stocked up in a basket on top.

The first thing Bulma did was start running herself a hot bubble bath. The washroom was fully stocked with amenities like body wash, bubble bath, toothbrush and toothpaste, moisturizing cream and everything else imaginable.

She heard a soft knock on the door as she was waiting for the tub to fill and she cautiously went to the door and opened it. She hoped she hadn't made too much noise and disturbed everyone. It was late.

"Sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but I thought you might like something comfortable to sleep in," Resident Bulma said to her, handing her a pair of comfortable yoga pants and tank top. "I brought you the rest of that bottle of wine too, there's plastic glasses in the room by the mini fridge and there's the rest of dinner in the capsule too if you are hungry. Is there anything else I can grab for you before I head back to the lab?"

"Thank you," she replied, taking the clothes and capsule. "Actually, this might be an odd request, but do you have a decent pair of scissors and a comb I could borrow?"

Bulma tipped her head to the side. "I do, actually. Why?"

"I just want to try and fix my hair a little," she said. Since leaving the lab and going back to Vegeta-sei and arriving here, and seeing two different versions of herself looking nothing short of amazing, she was more distinctly aware of how awful she truly looked. At the lab, she hadn't cared at all about how she looked. "The scissors I have aren't very good and as you can see, I kind of made a bit of a mess."

"Alright," she nodded. "Come with me, I'll get you a pair."

"Hang on," Bulma said, ducking back into the room to shut off the running bath water before coming back to her.

Resident Bulma led her through the compound of Capsule Corporation and into her own personal bedroom.

"Vegeta's asleep already so we need to try and be quiet," she admonished. "He gets pissy if he's woken up."

"Oh, I _know,_ " she chuckled quietly as they tip toed quietly past him. She snuck a look at him as they went. He looked like he was asleep, but she couldn't hear him breathing and wondered if he actually was asleep.

"Have a seat," Bulma said to her, closing the lid on the toilet and opening a drawer, carefully rummaging inside, trying to be as non-disruptive as possible.

"Oh, it's okay, I can do this myself. You don't have to, you've put yourself out enough because of me."

"No, I don't mind," she insisted. "I like cutting hair. And I'm sorry, but the back _really_ needs some help."

Visitor Bulma sighed and nodded in defeat. She _knew_ her hair was an absolute butcher job, but she was suspicious that wasn't the only reason she was insisting on helping her out with this. "I'm not going to kill myself," she said.

"I know that's not your intent," she said kindly. "We Briefs women are pretty tough. We can make it through just about anything."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it," she admitted quietly. "But at this point I have a solid plan of escape so it would be pretty silly to have made it this far only to end it."

"I don't blame you, that all sounds awful. I didn't mean to imply that. I just want to help. You'll feel better with a decent haircut, a hot bath, some wine and a good sleep." She said optimistically and she reminded her so much of her mother with that statement.

"Yea," she sighed in agreement. "You know me far too well,"

"I know!" she exclaimed. "Now sit, and don't worry. I've been wearing my own hair super short for a while now and don't always have time to go in and get it done. Trust me."

"Vegeta doesn't hate it?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Dunno," she shrugged. "He's never said. Why? Does _your_ Vegeta have a preference?"

"Yes," she replied. "My hair is always long. It was when we met. Then I cut it into a short chin-length bob when we were separated right after we were married,"

"Right," she nodded. Bulma had told her all about how she and Vegeta had gotten together.

"And he wasn't overly thrilled when we'd met up again. I let it grow again until recently. A few months ago I chopped it all off. It was almost down to my elbows."

"Oh, so he's going to be in for a bit of a shock," she said, combing her hair. "Oh well,"

"Yup. It's hair, it grows."

"So you did this a few _months_ ago?" Bulma asked with a frown as she looked closely. "Good grief, how short _was_ it?"

"Like a pixie cut," she shrugged. "I didn't really care when I did it. It was kind of impulsive."

Bulma didn't reply as she combed the hair and parted it where it naturally fell. "Well, to get rid of these lines, I'll have to go really short if that's okay with you. At least that way when it grows, it will be even and hopefully have some shape."

"You do whatever," she sighed. "You can't make it look any worse than it already does."

"Oh no, I'll make it look great!"

Bulma smiled to herself and let the other girl work.

"So, can I ask you what _did_ prompt you to do such a thing? You really made a mess back here." She said after a few minutes.

"I… you really don't want to know," she said, ringing her hands in nervousness. "Someone was… _bothering_ me. I needed to put an end to it and I thought if I made myself look _less_ attractive, then maybe this person would leave me alone."

Resident Bulma frowned. "Judging from your tone, it didn't help, did it."

"No," she answered. "It's my fault. He's gone now. I umm… I kind of killed him. So it's done, but it's still affecting me very negatively."

"Is that what happened to your hand?"

"No, that was someone else," she said, covering her damaged right hand with her good left hand. Part of her didn't really want to get into it, but another part of her thought why not? She'd blurted it out to Vegeta. "Vegeta's father wasn't exactly a fan of us being together."

"His father did that?" she exclaimed.

"Yea," she nodded. "After he knew Vegeta had lost the battle, he had soldiers arrest me and we had a rather _unpleasant_ run in."

"Huh," she grunted. "Vegeta doesn't talk much about his father, I kind of assumed that it was because he was so young when he saw him last, that there's not much he really remembers of him. But he has said on occasion that he was probably having a conniption in the other dimension that he had taken a measly Earth woman as his wife. I always thought he was just joking though."

"Oh no," she shook her head. "He's dead serious. His father was willing to do anything, even screw his own son over just to be rid of me and Trunks. It wasn't good."

Resident Bulma didn't say anything for a few minutes as she concentrated on giving Visitor Bulma a good cut.

"So tell me about your daughter?" Visitor Bulma asked. She was both intrigued and bothered by the idea that she had a daughter in another life somewhere.

"Bra? She's a handful," she chuckled. "She's totally Vegeta's little girl though. He'll never admit it, but those two are like two peas in a pod. He's been great with Trunks growing up and Trunks doesn't really remember how he was absent for most of the early years of his life so that's good, but he's not afraid to be involved anymore with the kids. I think for a long time he was afraid he had nothing to offer them."

"We had that discussion," Bulma said knowingly. "I don't know about this time, but in my time, it was more he is so afraid of becoming his father that he could be distant around Trunks even though he didn't want to be. Now that Trunks is older, it will be interesting to see how they interact when we get out of there. Trunks is so much like Vegeta, it scares me sometimes. I'm actually worried they won't get along at all."

"Hmm, they will," she said in a carefree tone. "Don't worry; and now that you have an escape plan, you both can start again and have Bra! She wasn't planned either, but she couldn't have come at a more perfect time for us."

"Yea," Bulma swallowed down a lump. "I'm really happy for you, but that's not in the cards for me."

"Oh don't say that!" she exclaimed. "Vegeta will act all pissy about it, but he will come around as soon as you start showing. Never has he been so attentive. He has been to all of us since her birth. It changed him and our family so much."

"Oh, it's not that," she said quietly. "Remember I said that someone was bothering me and I killed them?"

"Yes,"

"Well in that altercation, I was stabbed and it caused severe damage that I can no longer have any kids, even if we wanted to," she admitted and was surprised how easy it was to openly talk about this with not only herself, but even to Vegeta earlier. Was it because they were older, more mature than her and they had been through their share of obvious hardship?

"I… I'm so sorry," Resident Bulma said quietly. "I don't even know what to say. I didn't mean…"

"You didn't know," she replied, not wanting her to feel guilty. "I probably shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry. I just… I don't have anyone to talk to and I haven't spoken about it with anyone since it happened and I don't even know how to tell Vegeta about most of this when we do make it out. He's oblivious to nearly all of it. He doesn't know his father assaulted me, he doesn't know that I was involved in a sexual relationship for the sole purpose of being allowed to see the boys. I mean he knows it happened once, but he went into the tank right after he doesn't know I… I don't know how I'll _ever_ tell him everything."

"I don't know," she replied honestly, her stomach dropping at the thought of having to tell her own Vegeta something so awful. "That's a tough one and I'm sorry I can't give you any guidance there. If it was me, I'd probably keep most of it to myself because you know how he can be; he'll immediately blame himself and in that shame, he'll take it out on you."

"Yea, that's what I'm afraid of,"

"Maybe tell him gradually as it comes up and make sure you give him his space when you do, he will need time to work it out on his own and come to terms with it all," she advised. "It may take him a while, but he will and you'll both work it out. I know it."

"I don't know," she said dejectedly. "You don't understand how _bad_ it was and he's always been so protective to make sure nothing bad ever happened to me and yet the one thing he tried so hard to prevent ended up happening and worse yet, I _allowed it_ and went along with it for _years_ before I had the courage to stand up to him. I don't think he'll understand that."

"Well, if I know anything about Vegeta, it's that the more he reacts to something, the more upset he is about it. You'll work through it. If we can work our way through him not lifting a finger to save me and toddler Trunks from a direct attack from our enemy and then stay together after he let a wizard turn him evil again just so he could have more power and then he turned and destroyed thousands of innocents just to provoke Goku into a fight, I'm confident you and your Vegeta can overcome anything. There's a good reason why any timeline I've come across that we're _always_ together. That to me means something pretty meaningful."

"That's true," she agreed. "How's my hair coming? Or should we just shave it all off at this point?"

"It's not _that_ bad!" she chuckled. "I'm actually almost done, and I'm very pleased. The back is really short, but at least it doesn't look like you got into a fight with a lawn mower and lost anymore."

Visitor Bulma laughed at her; that was a fairly accurate description. "Well then if it looks okay, then maybe Vegeta won't be quite as upset."

"Hopefully not," she agreed as she finished up trimming the front so that it fell nicely around her face. "There you go,"

Bulma got up to take a look in the mirror. Her hair was very short, but looked almost the same as Resident Bulma's hair. Short and sophisticated. "Thank you so much! That's a _vast_ improvement!"

"I took it maybe a bit _too_ short, but it will grow and it looks good now," she shrugged. "It'll take some getting used to."

"It will, but you did a really good job, I can't thank you enough!" she said turning and hugging the other version of herself as she felt herself beginning to get emotional again. "Sorry, I'm such a loser for getting so emotional over something as dumb as a decent haircut."

"It's okay," she said, hugging her back. "When was the last time you did something for yourself to make yourself feel good?"

"Oh god, it feels like _never_ ," she sniffed.

"Exactly," she said, pulling away and looking at her. "Look at this as a fresh start. You can go back and kick some ass and start over with your family. Now go have your bath and some wine and sleep in until three o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow if you want. You can stay as long as you'd like and I'll go back and look at your machine."

"Oh, I won't sleep that long," she snorted, though the thought of actually being able to sleep in at all was certainly appealing. "Make sure you don't stay up too late,"

"I'll be fine," she brushed off. "Now go get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. You know the way back?"

"I do," she nodded. "Thanks again, really. You have no idea."

"Don't mention it."

Visitor Bulma left the room and went back to the room she had been given. She resumed running her bath, which the water already drawn was still surprisingly warm. As she did that, she rifled through the snacks. Of course, many of her favourites that she had not had since she had been taken from her home were there and she was overwhelmed as to what to eat first. She made a special mental note to ask the other Bulma if she could take some of them with her.

She poured herself a glass of wine and inspected her new haircut as she waited for her bath. She found herself very impressed with herself. She _had_ done a really good job. Certainly much better than she could have done herself even _with_ a decent pair of scissors.

A few minutes later, her bath was ready and she hopped in and revelled in the warm water and scents from the bubble bath and soothing oils she had put in the water. Yes, it was going to be extremely difficult to leave all this behind a second time. Especially now knowing what she'd missed out on. She'd met the daughter she'd never even have.

Bulma took a large sip from her wine as she contemplated that one. It was weird and surreal. Yet she felt the reason to grieve then for the life that would never be as a result of this nasty turn her life had taken. Seeing Vegeta interact with her had melted her heart.

She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind completely. There was no sense in dwelling on things that would never happen because of events that were beyond her control. She needed to relax and use this opportunity to recharge. She had a lot to do once she got back and she needed to be at her best mentally and emotionally if she would be able to pull this escape off.

Then, when it was all over and they were all safe and sound, then she would grieve for all that was lost and could have been.

-0-0-0-

Resident Bulma finished cleaning up the mess of hair in the bathroom and discreetly walked around to her side of the bed to the side dresser to grab a more comfortable pair of clothes to wear before heading back to the lab to work on Visitor Bulma's time machine. She hadn't had much of an opportunity to diagnose what was wrong because they had been visiting too much. From what she could tell, however, it was structurally sound. The problem seemed to be the programming with the scouter.

As she removed her work pants and sat down on the side of the bed to put on her lounging pants, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her into the centre of their bed.

"Come to bed now," Vegeta said.

"I can't, Vegeta," she said, touching one of his hands and squeezing it affectionately. "I need to fix that machine so she can get back to her timeline."

"It can wait until tomorrow," he said gruffly, pulling her closer to him. "Stay."

Bulma sighed. Vegeta was right. Even if she managed to fix it and get it ready for her within the hour, the girl still needed to get some sleep and would be staying the night here anyway. "Alright, but I need to be up early to get back at it. I mean, she can stay for however long she wants, but I think she'll want to go as soon as possible so she can get her family out of there."

"Hmmn," he grunted. He hadn't been asleep just yet when they had shown up and he had heard most of their conversation as his Bulma had fixed the other Bulma's hair. He'd already been disturbed by what little she'd told him before his Bulma had come home. Now he was more than upset to learn of what else she had endured.

Of all the time he had previously wasted wishing for his home planet to have still been around and the times he had entertained a what if scenario surrounding his family being on Vegeta-sei with him rather than on this planet, upon knowing what had happened in this other timeline, he found himself hard pressed to ever wish for the reverse again. Of course, he hadn't really given it much thought since Buu, but it had been on his mind for years after he'd settled down on Earth. He wouldn't wish any of that on his family or on himself even. Things were exactly as they were supposed to be.

Bulma was able to get away from him to finish changing into her clothes before going back to him and snuggling in close to him. While there were many times over the years she had wished for a different turn of events in their life together like how they'd met and when or how she'd handled certain situations throughout their time together, she decided she was thankful for the way things had turned out. Nothing was ever as bad as what this other version of herself had endured over the last few years.

"I love you," she said to him as she dozed off contentedly in his warm, secure embrace with the knowledge that the future she had just been told would never happen to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. I had a lot of fun with it. How funny would it be if cannon characters ran into some of the AU fic situations we've all read! What would they think of it? Would they wish for their stories or would they find themselves content with the story Akira Toriyama has written for them up to this point?
> 
> Only thing I want to point out is... When I first started this ark, there was no Dragonball Super. I think the Resurrection F movie had only just been released. So it was originally written with the end of Dragonball Z in mind. I don't like GT so I ignored anything pertaining to it... It doesn't exist at all in my own personal head cannon. Also, I am VERY behind in Super. So now the problem was that this segment of attempting to blend in the cannon universe with my own AU was off a bit. So I made some adjustments, which doesn't sound too difficult until you start researching and realize what a mess the timelines are now between DBZ and DBS. Lots of conflicting things there so I just sort of picked and chose what to run with and ages and events and such… I figured since we all mostly know the canon storyline (even if we are behind on the current Super storyline) it's not that hard to just go with it. I tried to blend it to the very best of my ability in any case. I hope it was amusing for you guys even if some of it is a tad off from canon!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the reviews and encouraging PM's everyone! No, I'm not abandoning this story- I promise! Sometimes it may take me a little while to get around to updating, as I am waay too busy in my personal life at the moment, but I will finish this story one way or another. I won't leave you guys hanging- I promise! Thanks for being patient and sticking with me!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 2 Boxers/clowns and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z DOES NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing the characters for my own twisted amusement.

 

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 43** _

Resident Bulma had gotten up extra early to get started on working on the machine and figuring out what had gone wrong. In truth, she hadn't slept all that great that night anyway. She couldn't stop thinking about the other version of herself and everything she'd been through and how different their lives were. It was unbelievable to even think about!

Even Vegeta had not slept as soundly as he usually did and he got up a good hour or so before she had to go work out in the gravity room. She felt bad. He was clearly letting this get to him and she hoped it wouldn't throw him into a depression. It had taken him a while to get over knowing that the future version of herself had been killed. She hoped he wouldn't obsess over this too much. Things between them were so perfect right now, she didn't want him to revert back to being distant and closed off.

She thought of gathering the dragon balls for Visitor Bulma to see if they could undo a few things to help her out, but then remembered in dismay that recently Oolong and Master Roshi had done some dragon ball hunting of their own and had wished for a lifetime supply of swimsuit magazines, exercise videos and Kleenex.

"What a waste of three perfectly good wishes we could have really used right now for something that _actually_ matters," she sighed in frustration. "Disgusting perverts."

They should really make a restriction on what people could wish for just in case emergencies like this came up and they _needed_ to use the dragon balls for something important, she thought to herself. At this rate, she estimated it would be about seven months or so before they would be able to use them again. They'd still be stone and undetectable at this moment. "Fuck sakes," she muttered to herself as she realized how long a wait that was. When they were restored, she decided then that she would make a point of collecting all seven of them and not tell anyone about it and just keep them locked away for future use if something like this or _worse_ happened. That way, if anyone wanted to use them, they'd need to clear it by her first.

"That would go over real well," she muttered to herself with a smug grin. Pilaff and his crew would not only shit a brick when they found out, but would probably start picketing in protest in front of Capsule Corporation until she let them use them. While the thought was amusing and not a bad one, who was she to decide whose wishes were worthy? In all good conscience, it wasn't right. Not to mention unfair. What if some other people learned about the dragon balls and wanted to search for them but then couldn't because she was hoarding them?

Bulma sighed as she turned on the machine and began scrolling through the scouter. It was very similar to the one she had recovered from Raditz's visit years ago. She scrolled through the menus until she found the coordinates of the planets and assumed that was what she had used to navigate the time machine. "Clever," she murmured to herself.

Out of curiosity, she scrolled through and found herself amazed by all the planets that came up; though she knew she shouldn't have been _that_ surprised. Sure enough, she found some planets she recognized the names of from either her own travels or from hearing Vegeta talk about them and she managed to find Namek.

"Well, that's a good start," she said to herself. If the planet Namek was still there, then there was a good chance that the dragon balls existed. She saved Namek's coordinates on the scouter for her so she could easily find it again if she ever found the chance to be able to get there. Bulma continued to scroll through the scouter and sure enough, the Earth was gone. Surrounding planets like Venus and Mars were still there along with the other planets she knew _should_ be. She shook her head in disbelief. It was so strange to her that Earth was completely gone in another timeline, yet here she was and everything was fine. _Thanks to the dragon balls,_ she added mentally.

She backed out of the screens displaying the part of the galaxy that was far, far away from where she needed to be and back tracked to where the previous Bulma had just been; Vegeta-sei.

Bulma got up to refill her coffee before sitting back down and attempting to solve the problem at hand.

-0-0-0-

Bulma got up out of bed earlier than she thought she would. It wasn't too late, but much later than she was accustomed to sleeping in in a very long time. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so well or felt so refreshed. After returning back to her room, she'd finished running her bath, had another glass of wine and perused through a bunch of old, but new to her, tabloid magazines. She was shocked by how many celebrity couples had split or died since she had been home. She supposed they'd all died, really when she thought about it; but it was still odd to her to be reading about it all in a different timeline and wondered what else she'd missed.

She got herself out of bed and didn't bother changing out of the comfortable yoga pants and tank top the other Bulma had given her. Keeping her perception filter on her, she carefully made her way down the hall and was going to go to the kitchen, but wasn't comfortable going there herself. She wasn't sure she would be able to keep it together if she saw her parents or even Trunks and the daughter she'd never have now. She was still processing that and suspected it would take her a while to fully accept it.

She quietly made her way back to the lab, where she wasn't surprised to see the other version of herself hard at work already. She took off the perception filter, putting it down on a table in the lab next to her capsule of things so she would not accidentally forget it.

"You're up early," Resident Bulma greeted her.

"Well, it's a lot later than I usually get to sleep in these days," she said. "Thank you for last night. I really needed that."

"No problem!" she winked at her. "Now, I'm not positive, but I think I might have figured out what the problem was with your machine."

"That didn't take you long. What happened?"

"I think it has to do with the way you calculated the dates. For some reason you did it properly in going back, but not for your return date. You can't just hit a back button, unfortunately, so for whatever reason it brought you here because at some point you must have been adhering to Earth time, rather than galactic time, which is different I take it?"

"Yea, it's different. You know how a month here is 30 or 31 days? Their months are all 45 days long," Visitor Bulma explained. She couldn't believe she hadn't taken that into account for her return trip. She'd over simplified it entirely. "So if I can't just go back to the date of origin, how are we going to figure out how to get me back?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but Vegeta might be able to help with that," she said, sounding unsure. "Otherwise it means getting in touch with people who will have issues with the fact that you broke the law of time travel to begin with,"

"Great," she moaned to herself. Dende had warned her of what a serious offence it was and she had brushed it off and done it anyway.

"The good news is, I'm friends with some of them, so I _might_ be able to convince them to turn a blind eye this one time to help get you back to where you belong."

"Alright. Thank you,"

Resident Bulma left the machine and went to her desk where she typed something into her computer. On the screen Visitor Bulma saw Vegeta working out in what she assumed was the gravity chamber.

"Hey, Vegeta, can you take a break from your training for a little while? We need your help." She said. He quit doing his push ups and she couldn't hear what he said, but clearly he'd acknowledged her.

"He trains hard every day, hey?" she commented. "My Vegeta was the same."

"That's about all he does," she agreed. "He helps out a lot with the kids now and is less obsessive than he used to be, but training is his coping mechanism or whatever you'd like to call it."

Visitor Bulma nodded. "This may be out of line, but I couldn't help but think last night a lot about those dragon balls you were telling me about. Is it possible for me to make a wish now, or would that not be possible because of different universes and timelines and such."

"That's a good question, I never thought about that. I _did_ however think about getting them for you so you could make a wish but some idiots used them not too long ago and they won't be restored for about seven months give or take? The thing about the dragon balls is they can only be used once a year. Then they turn to stone and are scattered all over. I won't be able to find them even until that full year is up and then I don't know, you may be right. The dragon may not be able to grant you any wishes since you are from a different universe completely." Resident Bulma explained, grabbing anther coffee for herself and one for Visitor Bulma.

"Darn," she said. _Of course it wouldn't be that easy for me, where is the fun in that_ , she thought to herself bitterly. However, twenty four hours ago she hadn't even heard of the dragon balls. Now not only did she know of their existence and what they could do, but she knew two Nameks. That was still more information and a possibility of hope than she had before she'd arrived here.

"Unless you'd like to take a chance and stay here with us until we can use them," Resident Bulma offered. She figured she wouldn't want to stay here that long, but wanted to offer her the option anyway just in case.

"Yea, while that is very tempting, I can't stay here for seven months," she shook her head. "Thanks for the offer though. I need to get back and not have anyone notice that I was gone. I've probably been gone for too long as it is."

"Alright. I figured as much but I still wanted you to know that you have the option to stay if you want to. You don't _have_ to leave immediately,"

"Thank you," she said. "It's also a bit of a waste if it turns out I can't make any wishes anyway because I'm not from here."

"True," she nodded. "But I'd be interested in finding out. In any case, I thought you should have this,"

Visitor Bulma took the small circular object from the other woman. It looked almost like a pocket watch, but with no numbers or hands on the face. "What is this?"

"It's the dragon radar," she said smiling proudly. "It detects the dragon balls and will make your search so much easier."

"I can have this?" she asked dumbfounded. "What if there are no dragon balls? Even if there are, I probably won't be able to give this back to you."

"That's alright. Keep it," she brushed off. "I've made so many over the years that I can make another one in just a few hours. Plus some of my friends have an older model or two kicking around as well, so I really don't need it. This one is the best out of any of the ones I've made and given out. I made some adjustments to it and it's so easy to use and much more sensitive to detecting them from farther distances."

"This is amazing," she said. "Thank you. You've done so much!"

"Hey, don't worry about it. You'd do the same, I'm sure."

Visitor Bulma nodded. She would.

Resident Bulma left her there to get them both some breakfast and brought it back to the lab. Visitor Bulma still wasn't sure if she had it in her to speak with her mother or even interact with the kids. It was all a little too much for her to process all at once.

"You mentioned that there were androids you guys fought," she said as they ate. "Do you know anything about them?"

"Hmm, I took one apart," she nodded. "They were pretty remarkable. I might still have some of my notes. I'd have to go back to them if you have any specific questions because it's been so long since I did that. The one I dissected had a bomb in him. I remember that,"

"A bomb?" she asked. That was interesting. So far as she knew, the androids Gero had made in her timeline didn't have bombs in them. "That's interesting."

"I can't believe out of so many people, Dr. Gero is the one who survived," she commented.

"You're telling me!" Visitor Bulma agreed. "He's just terrible. It was him who was responsible for our planet being destroyed in the first place."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," she sighed. "Thankfully he's long gone from here in this timeline. What are the androids he created like?" she asked, wondering if they were anything like what they had encountered.

"They all are modeled to look like Frieza," she explained. "They have an unlimited power source and can be boosted from solar or if they absorb someone's life force energy,"

"That's how these ones were too," she nodded. "They were all different. The worst of them were two siblings. They had been real people, teenagers. He turned them into androids. They were pretty much unbeatable. They're fine now. One of our friends married one of them and the other lives in the wilderness as a hermit pretty much. They aren't a threat anymore, but they were really bad."

"Hmm, I'll have to check and see if there is a bomb in any of these ones. He let me go through his plans and I studied them in order to figure out a way to beat them, but I don't remember seeing a bomb in the plans."

"Interesting," Resident Bulma commented. "I'd have killed for a chance to go over Gero's plans. The man was crazy, but definitely a genius. Such a shame he was such a bastard."

"Isn't it?" she agreed. "The only reason he let me was because he's starting work on a new model. He gave me his notes to see if there was anything that I could find to add improvements. Of course, I couldn't really find anything to improve on; they're essentially perfect. But I took the opportunity to take down as much information as possible and gave it to Vegeta in my past to try and give him as much of an advantage as possible."

"Great idea!" she nodded in approval. "Do you have a copy of the notes with you, or did you leave them all behind in the other timeline? I'd love to have a look at them."

"No, I left every shred of information on them with Vegeta," she shook her head.

About ten minutes later, Vegeta walked into the lab, freshly showered and dressed in his full armour and fitted dark blue flight suit, white boots and gloves, looking like he was prepared to step into battle. His armour was similar to the armour that her Vegeta wore, but was missing the shoulder guards. It looked sleek and like it offered more movement. She made a mental note to make changes to the design of Vegeta's armour if she ever had the chance.

"Where are you going?" Resident Bulma asked Vegeta in confusion. He'd just gotten back from a long training mission with Whis and Lord Beerus. She didn't mind him leaving for these extended training boot camps, but she did expect him to stay home for a while in between them.

"You said you needed my help," he replied and then looked pointedly at Visitor Bulma.

"Oh, no, no," Visitor Bulma said, shaking her head and her hand, her stomach flipped pleasantly as she realized he meant to come with her and she was truly touched that he was prepared and willing to do that. "You don't-"

"I will go back with you and assist you on your way out of there," he said firmly.

Resident Bulma smiled at him, not at all surprised by his initiative and desire to help. "You're very sweet, dear. But I need your help on dates to figure out what timeline she's from. It seems the calendar is different so therefore the years are too. That's what I meant when I said we needed your help."

Vegeta scowled at her and crossed his arms. "I will still return with her," he said stubbornly.

"How will you get back though?" Visitor Bulma asked. "I can't ask you to come with me. Things are so bad, what if…"

"It is not debatable," he said. "I will help you get the other version of myself, Trunks and whoever else is with you, along with yourself out of there and then return here with this machine so that you will not find yourself lost again or in trouble with the Galactic Patrol once they notice someone else has been tampering with timelines."

"But what if I need to make another trip?" she asked, not really having any intention of making one due to the obvious risks, but more hard pressed to part with something she'd worked so hard on. Even if she never used it ever again, the time machine still had great sentimental value to her. It was what had kept her sane for a long time, keeping her distracted from dwelling on Jeyice and their predicament and all the things she could have and should have done differently. She'd put her heart and soul into building this machine and not only had it had paid off, but it was by far her greatest accomplishment. How could she just give it up and abandon it?

"You probably shouldn't," Resident Bulma advised, shaking her head. "There's no guarantee that you would make it back to _that_ timeline you just came from and you risk creating _another_ outcome timeline, which is why there's a super strict ban on time travel,"

"Yea, I know," she admitted. "I'm still not comfortable with you coming. Thank you though, I am truly touched by the gesture, Vegeta. This is something I need to figure out on my own though."

Vegeta scowled at her. "You have been stuck for _how_ long?" he asked. "You obviously are in need of assistance."

She smiled at his insistence. "A few years, but I have a solid plan and the information I got back from going back in my own timeline will help me get it all together. I'll be fine, really."

He grumbled but did not argue the point further.

"Can you remember how the galactic calendar system works out in space, Vegeta?" Resident Bulma asked. "I think that's where she went wrong in her calculations."

"Hmmn," he nodded and stepped into the machine to look at the scouter. It only took him a few minutes and he came back out. "I set it back to standard galactic. For some reason, it calibrated to an Earth calendar system."

"Weird," Visitor Bulma commented. "Why would it do that? There is no more Earth in the universe I'm from so there shouldn't even _be_ an Earth calendar."

"I do not know," he shrugged, exiting the machine and walking past her awkwardly. He was more than a little offended she did not want him to accompany her. It bothered him enough that the _original_ future version of her had been killed by Goku Black and there had been nothing any of them could have done about it. Here was another version of her that was in trouble and in desperate need of aid and yet she declined his help.

"Thank you," she said to him, wondering why he was suddenly giving her the cold shoulder.

"Be safe, take care of yourself," was all he said as he left the lab, leaving the two Bulmas alone. Stubborn woman with no sense of self preservation, no matter what universe or timeline they came from. It aggravated him to no end.

"Don't mind him," Resident Bulma said, waving her hand dismissively as he left the lab. "He's probably just upset you didn't want him to go back with you."

"Well, it's not that I don't _want_ him to, I just wouldn't feel right about it is all. What if I don't make it back even with the adjustment? What if something else goes wrong with the machine and _he_ can't make it back here after helping? And what if my plan of escape doesn't work and then he's stuck in the same boat as _my_ Vegeta? I can't accept his help," she said, beginning to feel frantic as all the different ways things could go wrong began to swirl through her mind. "Please thank him, I'm touched, _truly._ I just wouldn't feel right about it in case it went wrong, plus this is something I need to do on my own. I think I've got this and I _need_ this. I can't explain it, but this is something I need to do on my own. I am part way responsible for my family getting into this position, it's my responsibility to get us out."

"I'll tell him," she nodded and smiled at her. "I respect and understand your reasons and so will he. There was something that happened just before we had Bra pertaining to another version of myself not surviving a bad situation and it bothered him deeply so he's just being a little over protective. He means well though."

"I know he does," she sighed. "I just didn't mean to offend him. I have all the faith and trust in the world in him. I'm sure he would make a difference, it's just I would spend my whole rest of life wondering if he made it back here to you safely. _This_ is his home and where he belongs."

"He'll be fine, I promise," she smiled. "Now you take care and I know we probably will never cross paths again, but I hope everything works out great for you."

"Thank you so much," Visitor Bulma said giving the other version of herself a hug.

"No problem! Happy to help," she said, hugging her back. "Here, I quickly threw together a care package for you. There's a ton of food, boos and some good clothes you can have. I even included a few of Vegeta's flight suits and some armour in case you need it."

"Oh wow, thank you!" she said again taking the capsule and putting it in her pocket with the perception filter and other two she had. "Is the armour like what he was just wearing?"

"The very same," she nodded. "I remodelled it from Vegeta's own armour when he first came to stay here. It's lighter, much more practical and just as durable as what he had before."

"Amazing, thank you! I was noticing how nice his armour looked," she agreed. "Alright, well, I must be on my way now."

They capsulated the time machine and went outside.

_Oh no,_ Visitor Bulma thought as her stomach dropped at the sight of Bra and Trunks outside. Just when she thought she'd succeeded in avoiding them and leave not feeling like an emotional wreck.

"Are you going away?" Bra asked, running across the lawn to greet them.

"I have to go home, sweetie," Bulma said kindly to her.

"Will you come back to visit?" She asked.

"I'm not sure if I can. I'm from someplace really far from here and it was an accident that I came here, but I'll try." She replied, not sure what to say to her. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to upset her either. "You be a good girl for your parents,"

"Okay," she nodded in acceptance. "I will."

She decapsulated her machine in the yard and climbed in quickly before she got emotional.

"Good luck with everything!" Resident Bulma smiled as she watched her.

"Thank you," she smiled and noticed Vegeta approaching quietly. He was still dressed in his armour. She smiled at him and felt a little better as he nodded once at her. Hopefully she hadn't offended him too much by declining his help.

She sat down and turned on the machine and punched in the new coordinates. As she waited for the machine to go, she looked once more at Trunks, Bra, Vegeta and the other version of herself all standing together and noted how good they all looked together. While sad, she was glad she'd met them and was glad that somewhere out there, there was a universe where she and Vegeta were happy and content together with a beautiful family.

Before she knew it, there was that now familiar jump as it took off and she braced herself as she prepared for another jolt. She was surrounded in darkness again as she felt the machine jump again and again every few seconds and she began to panic as she could see nothing.

-0-0-0-

"She'll be okay," Bulma said quietly to Vegeta as they all headed back into Capsule Corporation. "This is something she needs to do herself. Don't resent her for that."

"Hmmn," he grunted in reply. He understood and he did respect her for it. He'd felt for years that it had should have been his right to destroy Frieza. It had taken him years to come to terms with that so he understood her need to independently do this on her own, however that didn't quell his protective instincts towards her any. She was still his mate even if she was from another timeline.

"Did you find out what happened with her machine?" Trunks asked.

"I think so," Bulma replied. "I hope so anyway.

The family of four went back to the house to finish having breakfast and Bulma decided to take the rest of the day off and spend it with her family, silently tanking the gods that everything was alright for the time being and that it would hopefully stay this way for many years to come.

-0-0-0-

Trunks and Tarble were finishing washing up after a fairly intense training session. They were still three weeks away from making it back to King Cold's base.

"Are you sure we're brothers?" Tarble asked him suddenly as he emerged from the shower in the bedroom they shared.

"Yea, why?" Trunks replied with a confused frown as he removed his clothing so he could shower next.

"Guildo doesn't think we are," he confessed.

"Guildo is an idiot and he hates dad. He'll say anything to throw you off. He's just jealous. I don't know why anyone keeps him around."

"That's what I thought at first too, but then it got me thinking about a few things," he said, scratching his head. "Like why we are so different and why you remember things about mom and dad and I don't."

"Ok but you look _exactly_ like dad," Trunks pointed out. "So obviously..."

"I know that, but that's like the only thing that seems to connect me with him. You look like both him _and_ mom. I just look like him. You're strong like him too and I'm not,"

"Ya but mom isn't strong. She said once she used to build and fly ships where she came from before she met dad. You're a really good pilot," Trunks argued.

"I guess," he shrugged. "Also, I didn't think anything of it until Guildo started bugging me, but when you were fighting with Jeyice that time we found mom hurt, she said ' _he's too much like his father.'"_

"Ok... So?" Trunks shrugged.

"I was there with her, shouldn't she have said _your father_ instead of _his_ father?" he asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Trunks huffed. "She was tired and stressed and upset over what happened. You're reading way too much into this. Stop letting Guildo fuck with your mind, he wants you to question yourself and mom and dad because he hates all of us."

Tarble nodded thoughtfully. All of what Trunks had said was true. Guildo was miserable at best and took great joy in cutting down those around him who he felt threatened by. Maybe Trunks was right, but something was nagging at him that the beastly toad may not be completely wrong. What if he and Trunks weren't actually brothers? What did that mean?

"You may be right, Trunks, but I've also been having dreams. I don't know if they mean anything like if they're memories or if they're just dreams but I sometimes dream of a woman with really long, dark hair. She's really pretty."

"That's more than I want to know," Trunks groaned.

"It's not like that though, Trunks!" he insisted. "I just feel happy when I dream about her. She sometimes speaks to me but I can't remember what she says when I wake up. It's really vague, but seems too real to not be anything."

"So... you don't think we're brothers then based on a few stupid comments made by a jealous moron, because mom didn't express herself well once and because you dream about some mystery woman? Tarble, that makes absolutely _no_ sense."

"I know," he agreed. "But something is telling me I'm right or at least on to something. Think about it, until recently, you've always been mom's favourite."

"That's not true," Trunks shook his head. "I'll _always_ be mom's favourite."

Tarble snorted and tossed his towel at Trunks head. "Well, you need to start talking to her again. It hurts her that you're acting all withdrawn and shit. Quit it."

"I can't help it," he replied with a frown. "Every time I look at her all I can think about is how Jeyice hurt her and how he had been for so long and we didn't do anything about it."

"We _didn't know_ , Trunks," Tarble said. "Don't blame yourself for something we knew nothing about. Even if we did, you weren't strong enough to help her anyway. At least you _tried_."

"We still should have known. Why did she even let that happen and for so long? And why didn't she ever tell us?"

Tarble shrugged. "Maybe she's embarrassed?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

"Well just start spending some time with her. We need your help planning an escape and it will make her happy that you are a part of it. I can't get everything done all on my own."

" _Right_ the escape mom has been planning since _forever_?" Trunks snorted sarcastically. "That's _never_ going to happen, Tarble. Not unless we get our hands on our own ship and we convince mom to just leave with us and leave dad behind."

"We can't leave dad behind, Trunks," Tarble said. "Mom wouldn't and I don't think it's fair. Don't you want to meet him?"

Trunks shrugged. A huge part of him wanted nothing more than to meet his father and see for himself what he was like and spar with him but another part of him was afraid of meeting him. What if he thought he was a disappointment? Not to mention he himself felt resentment towards the man and held him responsible for their situation. Yes, his mother had insisted over and over again that it was her fault they had ended up here, but Trunks still blamed his father. If he was so strong and so powerful and such an amazing warrior, why had he gotten captured? Why had he left his family all on their own that anything like this could happen?

He had so many questions for the man that he was dying to know the answers to, but he was terrified of coming face to face with him too.

"I guess," he shrugged.

Tarble shook his head at him. He knew Trunks wanted to meet their father as much as he did. "Well, I didn't tell you before, but mom and I do have a plan. She has a ship and all we need to do is paint it with some stuff she said will keep it hidden from the radar frequencies and then we can go."

"Ya because I'm sure we can just hang out at the docks painting a ship and no one will ask questions." Trunks huffed.

"Mom's got it covered," Tarble insisted. "Just talk to her when we get back. I'll let her tell you. I'm sure she's finalized more things since we've been gone so we can get out sooner. Just at least hear her out. I'm going to help her whether you want to or not, because I don't want to live like this anymore. I know you don't either."

"No," he agreed. "I just don't think it's going to be as simple as you and mom seem to think it is."

Tarble shrugged as Trunks walked past him so that he could have a shower of his own. Trunks had been different ever since his altercation with Jeyice. He was angry and withdrawn and becoming exceedingly negative. They all needed to get out of this place. Even if they all had nowhere to go and just lived on a ship forever, that was still better than life at King Cold's base.

Once they made it out, Tarble told himself he would ask Bulma about the truth about him and Trunks and if they were really brothers. Not that it really mattered, he thought to himself. Trunks was his brother whether they were related or not; he just always found a few things a little odd and now that he was a little older, he was curious. There were a lot of things that Bulma was very vague about and he was beginning to notice and wonder about them.

In any case, it was only three weeks until they were back to King Cold's base. Hopefully their mother had made some progress so that they could leave soon.

-0-0-0-

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut as the time machine finally stopped. It had felt like it had taken forever and she was dreading opening her eyes. What if she was lost again? Then what would she do?

After several long seconds of silence and stillness, she opened one eye and exhaled in relief. She was in her room on King Cold's base. Never in a million years would she have thought she'd be glad to see this place again, but she was. She was back where she needed to be.

She exited and capsulated the time machine, stashing it away carefully in her room, which appeared to be undisturbed since she had left. She then went into the bathroom where she had hidden her capsules with the ship and supplies in a shampoo bottle. They were still there, safe and sound. Did that mean that no one had noticed that she had been gone?

She hoped so.

Bulma exited her room carefully and walked into the lab and looked at Vegeta as he floated peacefully in the regeneration tank. She didn't realize how withered and wasted away he looked until now and it made her feel sad. He was probably going to be very weak for a while and she made a note to make sure she had lots of food on the ship before they left because he was going to be extremely hungry once he got out of there. That was something else the boys were going to have to help her with. She'd have to do an inventory and figure out how much food the other Bulma had given her and assume that the food that had been stored in the ship from years before was no longer any good.

She wondered again how she was possibly going to get Vegeta out of the tank safely and how he would be afterwards. Bardock had given her a lot to consider.

"Did you go?" Dende asked her quietly.

"I did," she nodded, slightly startled by the Namek child. She hadn't seen or even heard him approach her.

"So it worked?" he asked hesitantly as though he almost didn't want to know.

"It did," she smiled. "I mean, I got myself lost in another timeline, but I ran into myself and together we were able to figure it out."

"That's why it's so dangerous and why it's banned," Dende said. "I'm glad you made it back though."

"Thanks," she replied, though she had mixed feelings on that. A part of her had not wanted her other self to figure out what she had done wrong. It would have been so easy to just stay there for a little while at least. Maybe she should have stayed there for seven months waiting to see if the dragon balls could help her. No, coming back as quickly as possible was the best option. "Did anyone notice that I was gone?"

"No," he shook his head. "I did, but only because I knew you were going. Gero didn't notice and neither did the Android. I think they just thought you went to bed early since you do that a lot anyway."

"Good. Well, I'm glad I went. I was able to warn our past selves and I got some information on the regeneration tank; it looks like our best bet will be to break him out right before we leave. I have some reading up to do to see if I can determine the side effects of him being in there so long, if there are any," she said.

"I can heal him too," Dende offered.

"That's right, I forgot about that," she nodded.

"He should be fine when he gets out," Dende said. "But if he isn't, I should be able to help."

"Thank you. Come see me in my room," she said quietly. "I have some stuff to go over with you and something important I need to ask you about."

They quietly and quickly left the lab and went to Bulma's bedroom. She decapsulated all the books and scouters and everything she'd gotten from Vegeta-sei.

"These books have information on the type of liquid drugs used in the tank," she said, handing Dende one of the books. "Do you happen to know what Gero is using on him?"

"I don't," he replied, shaking his head as he flipped through the large text book. "But I can find a way of finding that out. I know where Gero keeps his notes from his research he's done on Vegeta and if it isn't there, I'm sure I can find out from him. I'll find a way of asking."

"That would be great," she smiled. "Also, when I found myself lost, I ran into another version of myself on my home planet of all places. We got talking and apparently you are my home planet's guardian."

"Me?" he asked with a puzzled frown.

"Yes, you," she nodded. "I don't really know how or why, but do you know anything about dragon balls?"

Dende shrugged. "They're a legend of my people," he said vaguely.

"A legend, or a _real_ thing?" she pressed. "This other universe told me that if someone collects all seven balls a dragon appears and can grant you wishes. Some dragons grant one, others three. She said it depends on the abilities of their creator and that the Nameks in her universe created them."

"Hmmm," he nodded. "That's all true. I'm just not comfortable discussing it here. If Gero ever found out about them, that would be horrible. If we get out of here, I'll tell you more and where we can get them."

"You're right," she nodded and couldn't help the smile that was playing on her lips. Right now that was all she needed to know. Dende had just confirmed their existence and that alone was big news and something to pursue when she got them out of there. "So for now, I need you to find out what drugs are being used in Vegeta's regeneration tank and I'm going to make a list of things I need the boys to do when they get back so that we can start making a real escape plan."

The next few days flew by for Bulma. Dende was easily able to figure out what Gero had used in the regeneration tank. Apparently it was something that would wear off quickly, but there wasn't a whole lot of information on the side effects. At least from what she could tell, it was something non addictive so they shouldn't have to worry about Vegeta having dependency issues and withdrawals.

Her big break was when a few of the soldiers walked into the lab and asked her if she knew anything about space craft mechanics. Apparently word had gotten out that Bulma was good with working with machinery. She wasn't sure if that had come from the boys or if Jeyice had mentioned it, but three of them had come to the lab to ask her if she could diagnose an issue.

Gero, who was completely absorbed in his new android project almost to the point of obsession waved her off dismissively when she asked if she could go and see if she could fix the issue.

Since then, for the last two weeks she had found herself extremely busy on the ship docks fixing and repairing many of Cold's fleet ships. Many of which had been out of commission for years because of lack of maintenance and someone who knew how to fix more major issues. Not only was it a huge advantage in that Bulma knew her way around the base a little better, but she finally felt like she was useful again. She was back to doing things she loved to do and she was building the respect and trust of not only King Cold but the guards as well. She showed up early in the morning, worked until mid-day when she would have a short lunch break, and then work until early evening where she would stop at the lunch room to pick up a meal to bring back to her room in the lab.

The third day she was allowed to go, she clocked the time it took to get from the lab to the ship docks. Almost exactly a seven minute walk. She'd managed to pin point where all the surveillance cameras were and she was quickly learning where the real guards were stationed as opposed to the android soldiers. She had carefully drawn up a map of the base from what she knew, from the lab to the ship docks, where the soldiers were stationed, where the surveillance cameras were and began a detailed plan she would share with the boys once they returned.

After two weeks, King Cold had commissioned her to begin painting and covering the ships with her lead stealth paint as soon as she was finished with all the repairs that needed to be done. Unfortunately, this would take her some time before she even had a chance to get to painting, however she didn't want to ask for help on this huge project. She was generally left with little to no supervision and despite the temptation of hijacking a ship and just leaving immediately, she refrained and did her job thoroughly and to the best of her ability, not giving anyone any reason for suspicion that she was up to anything. She was polite and cheerful and even told the soldiers tips on how to manage certain issues that she'd seen coming up over and over again with the ships.

Everyone loved her and no one suspected anything.

Hopefully, once the boys returned in a few days, she could put the finishing touches on her escape plan and their escape would be seamless as she went to work on ships as planned, and then just left. That was her goal, anyway.


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 2 Boxers/clowns and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

 

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 44** _

The boys returned to the base and Bulma commenced putting her escape plans into motion. She had asked King Cold's permission for the boys to help her with the painting of the ships under the excuse that she could not possibly complete the task on her own in a reasonable timeframe and she didn't trust anyone else to do as good a job. King Cold allowed it on the condition it did not interfere with their regular training and duties; should they be required for a mission, that would take president over anything she assigned them. She graciously accepted his terms and had the boys begin painting one of King Cold's ships first so that when they were looked in on every once and a while, there was no suspicion that they were up to anything other than what they were supposed to be doing. That alone took three weeks for them to paint a full ship with enough coats of paint that it was finished.

In that time as well, Bulma had moved around a lot of the ships and had figured out where the surveillance cameras were located and where the blind spots were. As predicted, there were many spots that weren't under constant watch in the ship docks. Security was minimal, which worked for her. The less complicated, the easier it would be to sneak out.

As soon as the boys had finished painting one of King Cold's ships, she felt comfortable enough decapsulating her own ship that Vegeta had prepared for her, now seven years ago. In those seven years, the ship had held up surprisingly well within the capsule. Bulma had been expecting to have to spend a lot of time doing basic maintenance. She had thought that maybe some of the fuel lines and other essential mechanical bits would have possibly corroded or seized from years of misuse, but it seemed to be just fine. If she was lucky enough to see her father again, she would be sure to tell him, as it had always been unknown how long certain things like vehicles and food could be preserved in the capsule and still maintain its integrity. From what she could tell, the ship was as good today as it was when it was first capsulated. Something she had not expected at all.

She had the boys siphon out the old fuel and replace it with new fuel. It started alright and seemed to run smoothly. She wasn't comfortable taking it for a quick test flight for fear of it being questioned and confiscated, but decided that was the chance they would have to take. Worst case scenario, maybe they could stop on a nearby planet and fix any repairs that needed to be done.

Bulma fastened one of the perception filters Jeyice had given her on it so that it would hopefully be kept hidden from anyone that came in periodically. She had the boys wear one each as well and so far, they had remained undetected entirely while working on their own ship.

She had cleverly placed the ship in such a way that it wouldn't be detected by surveillance cameras and shouldn't be found even if someone walked by it; unless they physically ran into it of course, but she'd strategically placed it off in a far corner area where she couldn't see why anyone would go near enough for that to even happen. It was such a small ship in comparison to most of the ones Cold had that it had been very easy. It couldn't be capsulated while the boys were painting it or the paint wouldn't cure and dry properly.

She split the work up evenly so it looked like the other ships were being painted while she had the boys paint their own ship in between. Trunks had complained on more than one occasion that she was taking too long and giving King Cold's ships too much priority over their own, but her feeling on the matter was to not rush things. She had finally gained some respect and liberty and her new freedom had to be handled delicately and decisions made with extreme discretion. If they took their time, then there would be less room for mistakes and less chance of getting caught on the way out. She had to plan this meticulously and be prepared for anything that may happen to come up.

At the current pace she had set, it took another three months for their own ship to be completely finished, as the boys were sent on another mission for a few weeks so that left Bulma to making all the ship preparations on her own. She began inventorying what they needed for their journey; fortunately there seemed to be enough food from what the other timeline Bulma had given her and a lot of the food that had been stocked previously were nonperishables that were still okay to consume. However, now that they were in the final stages of their escape plan, Bulma would have the boys begin to start stocking up the ship with other things that she could throw in the freezer once they got back.

Bulma had also started another project in her room while she was waiting for them to return. She had begun making a couple of EMP bombs. The idea being that if they worked properly and they were far enough away from the base when she detonated them, they should disable all the ships and hopefully the Androids as well. She wasn't completely certain about if it would affect them or not, but it was worth a try in her mind. She was going to leave one on the docks and two in Gero's lab.

With their ship ready, all she needed to do was finish her bombs and figure out how to disable the surveillance cameras just long enough for them to get Vegeta from the lab to the ship and then go. It  _should_  be as easy as that. Dende apparently knew where the surveillance room was so she was trusting him with that task.

Once the boys had returned, it took another few weeks for them to finally get everything together and sort out the minor details. Things were tense between all of them as they all knew their escape was looming closer and knew things had to be perfect; this would more than likely be the only chance they would have. Bulma had been more than accommodating and helpful to King Cold, his soldiers and she had been extra nice to Dr. Gero. If they blew this escape attempt, it would be the last time she or any of them would be trusted or given any freedom ever again. As it was, it was unbelievable how lax they were with letting her come and go as she had been the last few months so she was meticulous in making sure she had  _permission_  to do things and letting everyone know where she was at all times so nothing seemed suspicious or out of place where she was concerned. She'd been the perfect picture of helpful complacency and cooperativeness.

"So are we going to kill Cold too or what?" Trunks asked with a heavy sigh as he plopped down on the couch in Bulma's room. She'd gathered Trunks, Tarble and Dende together that evening to iron out a few of the details she wasn't sure about and to make sure everyone was up to date on the plan so far. Her plans had come a long way since she'd seen the boys last.

"I don't know how to go about doing that," she replied. It was a good idea and the only way to ensure their safety forever once they were out but to be honest, she just wanted to be out  _now_  and worry about King Cold later on. "That's going to take a whole lot of recon that we haven't had enough time to do. If you want to do that, I will not stop you, but getting your father out of here as soon as possible is my main priority."

"What recon?" he snorted. "I can just walk into his throne room and kill him. I'm a Super Saiyan now too, remember?"

"Yes, but you can't just walk in there and kill him, Trunks. It won't be  _that_  easy," Tarble said. "He's always got at least three or four androids with him, I don't think even you can beat one of them. Not to mention there's always lots of people in with him too that are a lot stronger than us."

"Well what point is there in leaving if we don't get rid of Cold?" he asked. "He's just going to come after us."

"I don't know," Bulma shook her head. Trunks was right, but she also felt mentally drained by this point. She hadn't been sleeping as much as she should have because she was working overtime trying to get everything in order so they didn't have to spend more time here than they already had. "We might have to figure that out later. If all goes the way I am hoping it will, King Cold may know within minutes that we have escaped, that I am counting on; however he won't be able to find us. The ship is covered in stealth paint and has a perception filter on it. They won't be able to track us on any of their radio frequencies. The ship also is not registered to anyone, so even if we have to land somewhere, we shouldn't be flagged in any system. He doesn't know where we are going either so I don't see how he could find us. Or it would be a very long time before he does and by then, maybe your father will be fully recovered and can help you take him out."

Trunks shook his head. "I think we should off Cold and be done with it."

Bulma sighed and shook her head. "Then you need to think of something because I can't help you with that but I'm not letting you do that without a solid pan. Watch him for a few weeks and see if there is any time when he's not surrounded by people stronger than you. Can you even beat him on your own?" she asked. Frankly, she didn't like the idea of him killing anyone, King Cold included.

He shrugged. "I'll sure try,"

"That's not good enough," she sighed, looking at him. "If you aren't one hundred percent positive that you can do it, then I don't want you even  _thinking_ about attempting it. We'll worry about him later on."

"But mom-"

"I said  _no_ , Trunks!" She snipped at him. "I've got more than enough things on my plate to keep me up all night worrying, I don't need you're safety and wellbeing added to that."

Trunks sat back and crossed his arms in a huff. He  _was_ stronger now than he had been the last time he'd been beaten by Cold. Unfortunately, his mother seemed to only think of that and not the progress he'd made. He wasn't sure how strong King Cold really was, but he was sure he'd definitely be able to hold his own against him this time.

"The surveillance system is very basic. It will be no problem to freeze it and put it on a loop," Dende said.

"All I need is like twenty minutes to a half hour," Bulma shrugged. "It takes seven minutes to walk from the lab to the docks. I just need to make sure I have enough time to get Vegeta out of the tank and to the ship."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Dende said. "I have been keeping track of the schedule for the guards. Night time will be our best bet. There are only a few on and Gero takes the Android back with him at night so it will be clear here to just walk out."

"Perfect. I have three scouters for our own private use that no one will be able to listen in; damn it, I should have asked for a fourth scouter."

"Trunks and I can share," Tarble offered.

"I don't really need one, Bulma," Dende said. "As soon as I get the security cams frozen, I'll just sneak onto the ship and wait for you guys. It should be as easy as that since I have a perception filter."

"True, but I won't even attempt getting Vegeta out until I know the cams are on a loop," she said. "Tarble will escort you there and back to the ship and let me know as soon as it's safe for me to make my move."

"Then we will do it at night," Dende suggested. "Since the Saiyans are gone and Cold is pretty much in charge of the universe, his guards are lax. There's almost no one around on guard at night. The ones who are up are usually drunk."

"Alright, it's settled, we'll do it at night," she agreed with a nod. "We just have to figure out when. Trunks, do you really want to devise a plan on getting rid of King Cold that bad, or can we just go? Everything is pretty much ready. I just need to move your father to the ship and that's it."

"I want to end Cold before we leave," he said firmly.

"Alright," she sighed. "But I don't want you doing it unless you're absolutely sure."

They all agreed that they would let Trunks follow King Cold and learn what he could for one month. If he had nothing by then, they would leave and worry about him later.

Trunks took his  _assignment_  very seriously and the next day made a point of going to visit with King Cold in the throne room with the rest of the usual ass kissers instead of going to help his mother paint ships for Cold.

"What brings you here, young Trunks?" King Cold asked him out of curiosity. He'd noticed his attendance almost immediately and had been observing him as he awkwardly attempted to blend in with his other visitors.

 _Shit!_ Trunks thought to himself. He had not thought of a reason why he should be there and had been hoping that King Cold would not notice him right away. "I, umm… I wanted to spend time here instead of painting ships with my mother because I feel that there are better things I can learn from you and your colleagues than I can with my mother."

"You are no technician," he said in understanding.

"No, sir, I am not," he shook his head. "I want to be a warrior; the best like my father. I thought if I came here and mingled with the best, I could learn. My mentor is gone and feel my training is suffering as a result."

"Yes, it was unfortunate what happened to Jeyice," King Cold agreed. "However, he always did have a problem with the women. It was only a matter of time that he would harass the wrong one. It is a lesson you best remember."

"I have no interest is woman," Trunks said in disgust at the reminder of what his former mentor had done to his own mother.

"Yet," one of the men in the room snickered and the rest of the room began filled with laughter.

"I am serious," Trunks said firmly, stepping forward. "I want to advance and be one of the best soldiers in your army. I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know my mother, but her talents aren't  _my_  talents. My brother is more mechanically inclined than I am and so the arrangement she made with you suits him fine, but not me."

"You're bored," King Cold nodded.

"I am," Trunks admitted. It was the truth, he was bored. He did like that he was able to spend time with his mother, even though he interacted with her as little as possible. But he also wanted to train and learn how to use the ability of Super Saiyan to the best of his ability. He hadn't been able to do that since Bulma had had him helping out and so he had barely used his new transformation. If they were to be leaving here without destroying King Cold, he needed to become stronger. His father would most likely not be able to protect them for a while. Someone had to step up and he figured it may as well be him. Sure, he had ulterior motives in asking Cold what he was asking, but if he could improve himself in the process as well as figure out a way to kill him, then it was a win/win situation in his mind. He would not let anyone ever again prevent him from protecting his mother. It was that shame that made him distance himself from her.

"I can understand that," King Cold said with a bored yawn. "I have never been one to be interested in technology but unfortunately, we need technology to thrive. Very well then, who would you like to train under?"

Trunks was slightly taken aback by that. "Well, you. If possible."

" _Me_?" he chuckled, as did everyone else in the room. "And why would you want to train with me? Do you know how busy I am?"

"I'm sure you are," Trunks agreed. "However, I would love for the opportunity to learn from the best. You pretty much rule the galaxy, that would make you the best, would it not?"

"Very well, I would be willing to take you on as a pupil," he said with a grin. "You have a lot of potential, it would be a shame to put it all to waste. It is also a shame that your brother does not share your same talents and ambitions. You are, it seems your father's son."

"I am," he replied proudly. "Tarble takes more after my mother."

"So it would seem," Cold replied. "Seyton, take Trunks to my study room. If he wishes to learn under me, he should be well versed in the history of the Ice-jin."

"But I want to learn battle strategies and combat," Trunks objected.

"You will, my boy, you will. You must be patient. Some of the best battle education you will receive will be from reading the history books and learning of how we defeated some rather clever and formidable adversaries to get to where we are today," he said. "If you wish to learn from the best, you need to study the best.  _Then_  we will train together."

"I look forward to it, sir," Trunks said, bowing his head before following Seyton out of the throne room.

It wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he had asked King Cold to take him under his wing, but he'd never been invited anywhere in King Cold's private quarters before. It was still a step closer to Cold than he was even an hour ago. He would read through and learn all he could and be a model pupil so he could get as close to King Cold as possible. He hoped it would take him less than a month. After all, how much could there be to study anyway?

"This is King Cold's personal and private study," Seyton said, entering in a code to get into the room.

They walked in and Trunks was in awe. There were shelves fill with books; thick, bound volumes on every wall from floor to ceiling.

"You will want to begin over here," he said, taking him to the closest shelf to their left and pointing to the first book on the top shelf.

"Alright," Trunks nodded eagerly, levitating to the top and grabbing the first heavy book. "And where does it end?"

Seyton snorted and pointed to the last shelf on the other side of the entrance. "All of these books are our history,"

"All of them?" Trunks repeated in disbelief. He was never going to be able to read  _all_  these books within a month! There were  _thousands_ of them! Even if the only thing he did was read for a year, he was sure he wouldn't even be half way through it all.

"Yes,  _all_ of them," he replied nonchalantly. "We are a very ancient race. Our history goes back long before the Saiyans became intelligent enough to form a single intelligent thought."

Trunks frowned at him but took a seat in one of the large chairs and began reading anyway.

Seyton narrowed his eyes at the boy as he watched him read. He would keep a close eye on him and make sure he was not up to something. After all, he wouldn't have been the first Saiyan to be taken in, schooled, trained under a member of the Cold family's generosity and then betray his master. History always repeated itself and he was sure this young half breed would be no different from his father and his father's father before that.

After a week of reading as much as he could, Trunks began to get bored. When he'd wanted to spy on King Cold and find ways to defeat him, this was most certainly not what he'd had in mind. Feeling like he was being snubbed and not taken seriously, he sighed heavily and put away the heavy book he'd been reading. He hadn't gleaned much in the last week. Sure, they were all stories about all the battles and wars the Ice-jin had fought and won, but there was never any information about the other sides of their opponents. Surely they weren't all bad. It didn't impress him all that much except to reaffirm to him that the Ice-jin were bullies of the universe just like his mother had told him.

"Learning lots?" Came King Cold's voice from behind him, startling him.

"I am," he replied, turning around to face him, feeling a little stunned that he hadn't noticed or sensed him coming. "It's all very interesting."

"It is," King Cold agreed. "However I know reading for hours on end was not why you approached me."

 _Shit!_ Trunks thought to himself in panic. Was he on to his real motive? "Not really, but that's okay. I don't mind studying."

"Indeed, you are a smart boy. Your father was smart, so I don't expect anything less, though in the last few days I have found myself feeling rather sympathetic towards you. By the time your father was your age, he had purged many planets and had been purging planets and commanding armies of men all on his own. You are behind in that regard and many of your talents are being wasted here. Perhaps I was wrong in holding you boys back for as long as I have."

"You have done what you felt was right," Trunks replied respectfully. Inwardly he was vibrating with hope that maybe he would  _finally_  be able to start gaining King Cold's confidence. He had been so impatient with his mother's waiting and  _biding their time_  as she kept putting it, but maybe there was something to that, he realized now.

"I'd like to begin remedying that now," he said. "You both are old enough. I have a mission I have been planning for quite some time. It requires much discretion and I will be seeing to it personally. I want you and Tarble to accompany me. Jeyice and his force of soldiers meant well in sheltering you both but I think it is high time you learned what is really going on in the far corners of the universe and what it means to rule and retain a position such as mine."

"You want us to come with you?" Trunks asked excitedly.

"I do," he nodded. "However we will be gone many months. It could be close to a year before you see your mother again. However you will receive firsthand experience and learn what it takes to bring planets and peoples in line. You will be required to slaughter millions possibly. Are you ready for this? It will not be an environment for children and I cannot have weak or soft individuals at my right hand."

Trunks thought about it for a moment. He'd love to go on a mission like that but if he and Tarble were gone for a year, then that meant his mother would have to wait for them to return. She wouldn't want to wait that long and if she went without them, how would they ever find her? She'd been very secretive about their destination. All he knew was that it would take them a few months to arrive, that her parents were residing there and that there may be two other Saiyans there waiting for them. That was all he knew. However this would be a perfect opportunity for him to fully gain King Cold's confidence and respect and then he could make his move without anyone suspecting a thing.

"I'm in and I'm sure Tarble will feel the same way," he said confidently even though he knew that Tarble would be completely opposed to it. "When will we be leaving?"

"In three days' time," he said. "I still have a few arrangements that need to be made. In the meantime, inform your brother and your mother and spend some time with her, for it will be a log while before you will be seeing her again and that's  _if_  you should be fortunate enough to make it back alive."

"I don't plan on dying, my lord," Trunks said. "I'm ready for this and so is my brother."

"Very well, go see to it that he knows," King Cold said, dismissing him.

"I will, thank you! I am honored for this opportunity to prove myself to you."

As Trunks left with a bounce in his step, he realized that he felt some measure of regret that he probably wouldn't be able to prove himself to Cold, ever and he felt somewhat torn. He knew that their ship was ready to go and that his mother was only still here because he had wanted to have the opportunity to get rid of King Cold to ensure their safety. She would more than likely insist on leaving within the next day or two now and while he wanted nothing more than to get out of this life he had been raised in, a part of him really wanted to go on this mission with King Cold. If for no other reason than to get validation that he was just as good as if not better than his father. He knew his father had been raised in a similar environment; if he had and succeeded, then there was no reason why he couldn't be a successful warrior as well. His father had grown up under King Cold's son Frieza and had killed him, maybe he could follow the same path and be the one to kill King Cold and he would be considered as great as his father was in some areas of the galaxy where the Cold's were not revered.

If they left and he didn't go on this mission, he'd never know if he was up to it or not and before long he found himself at the lab and in front of his mother's door.

He knocked once before entering.

"Hey stranger," Buma greeted him with a smile. As expected Tarble and Dende were with her. "It feels like forever since I've seen you."

"Mom," he whined as she gave him a hug.

"Well, you haven't been around and I've missed you,"

"I've missed you too, but I've been busy," he said after hugging her back briefly with one arm.

"So, have you figured anything out yet?" Tarble asked. "Mom wants to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Yes, it looks like we're being sent on a mission, Tarble," Trunks said. "King Cold is leaving and wants us to accompany him and he said it's going to be about a year before we come back here. I don't know any further details other than that."

"A year!" Both Buma and Tarble exclaimed.

"Oh, no," Bulma said shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I am not staying here another year. I'll lose my mind! Did he tell you when you are expected to leave?"

"Three days, he said,"

"Then we leave tonight," Bulma said, standing up and heading into her bedroom.

"Tonight? Are you insane, mom?" Trunks snorted, getting up to follow her.

"No," she shook her head. "There will likely be no one at the docks preparing to leave just yet. If we wait until tomorrow night or the night after, there will be soldiers everywhere."

"True," Trunks sighed. "I don't think he's announced it yet. Not formally anyway."

"Exactly," she said. "Now take your scouters and a perception filter. Take whatever belongings you want to bring with you and as soon as it's quiet, we will make our move. Everything is ready, I just need to get your father out of the tank and we will leave."

"But mom…"

"I'm not chancing it and I'm not staying here another moment," she said frantically, grabbing a bag of capsules that had been hidden behind a small dresser.

"But mom I…"

"No buts, Trunks, we're leaving."

"Mom, I  _want_  to go on this mission." Trunks said firmly.

"You most certainly are not!" She said, pausing from gathering her things. "I'm not waiting here for a year or more for you to come back,"

"No one is asking you to," he replied calmly. "Tarble and Dende can leave with you,"

"And when King Cold discovers we are missing, he's going to take it out on you; forget it. We're all leaving together and that's final."

"But I could get rid of him while I'm gone, mom," he pressed. "He trusts me."

"For now. No, Trunks. When he realizes that I've escaped with your father that will be the end of that. He'll hurt you to get back at your father and I, I know how these people think and operate! I'll not have it. Even if you do go and I stay here, what if something happens to you while you're gone and you never come back? I'll never forgive myself. Not when we have the opportunity to-"

"Would you quit assuming that something bad will happen to me? Do you even know what I am capable of?"

"I don't care what you  _think_  you're capable of," she said, reining in her own emotion at the thought that her son was even considering choosing to go on a mission with King Cold rather than leaving this place with her. "I waited and put off leaving before and look where we are. We're here because of  _me._  I won't make that same mistake again. Please, just listen to me."

"Fine," he huffed, walking back into the living room. "I'm not that same, helpless kid that couldn't protect you from Jeyice though. When will you see that?"

"Then stop acting like a child and quit arguing with me at every turn and maybe I won't," she snapped at him. "What happened with Jeyice has nothing to do with you. Come with me, I'll need your help getting out of here. Your father is going to need protecting and he will be very disappointed if you aren't on that ship with us when he wakes up. You'll get your chance with King Cold, you will. I'm sure your father will even support you one hundred percent on that when the time is right. That time is not now. I won't risk it."

"Alright," he nodded, swallowing back his disappointment. "What do you want us to do?"

"Take your scouters and go back to your rooms and capsulate everything you think you might need. Armor, whatever. Stay there until you hear from me. Dende will freeze the surveillance cameras and Tarble will go meet him there and escort him to the ship where you two will wait for me to come with your father. Trunks, I need you on standby in case I need your help moving him."

"Why don't I just stay here with you?"

"Because in case something goes wrong and the guards discover us, I don't want you implicated. I want you to leave this place."

"And where will we go?" Tarble asked.

"Our destination has been programmed into the ship. Activate that and it will take you there by autopilot. Once you are there, you are to speak to the Namek guardian Piccolo. You will meet my parents and hopefully Raditz and Asia will be there as well, but that's a long shot. You will be safe there."

Trunks shook his head. If the escape didn't work out, he wanted to go with King Cold but he wasn't going to tell his mother that at the moment. At least if he left with King Cold and came back stronger a year later, he could get his parents out of this place. "Whatever," he sighed.

"Alright. I'll notify you on your scouter as soon as Dende leaves to go to the surveillance room," Bulma said confidently.

"It's late enough that I could probably start making my way there now," Dende offered. He wasn't keen on staying here any longer than he already had been forced to.

"It's settled then, you boys head back to your rooms and wait,"

"I'll go with you," Tarble said to Dende. "There isn't anything I need to grab from my room. I'm already wearing my armor and we can share a scouter."

"I'll go back and pack clothes for us both and meet you both at the ship," Trunks volunteered. "Mom, if you need my help, call me."

"I will," she smiled at him and reached for both boys, hugging them both tight even though she knew Trunks hated that. "Thank you for listening to me," she said, kissing the top of his head. He was almost as tall as her.

"Mom," he whined, stepping away from her as soon as she let him go.

"Be careful!" she said seriously to the three boys as they each put on a perception filter and their scouters. "If anything is a miss, let me know immediately!"

"We will," Dende nodded and off they went.

Bulma began pacing the small room in nervousness. Leaving tonight on impulse wasn't the best idea, but she couldn't think of a reason why not to. What could possibly go wrong? Dende was correct. It was late enough that the night shift was on duty and they were practically useless.

As she waited to hear from Dende about the surveillance cameras, she decided to set up her two bombs in the lab. It would be easy, but there were a few other things she wanted to make sure she did before she left. She began rummaging through Gero's things that he didn't leave locked away. Because she had been helping him with his android project before she'd started helping repair King Cold's ships, he had become less insistent on keeping his plans on it hidden away.

She grabbed them and anything pertaining to that project and tossed it all on the table. She grabbed any tools and equipment she felt may come in useful to her on her trip and managed to find several manuals on things she had no idea about but took them anyway, hoping to leave Gero with as little as possible and capsulized it all.

"Bulma," she heard Dende whisper over her scouter. "It's done. Tarble and I are on our way to the ship. You have forty minutes before the surveillance cameras are live again."

"Forty minutes? Way to go!" she replied in excitement. That was more time than she'd been expecting to have. "Alright. Stand by. I'm going to break the tank and then I'll be on my way to you. You're sure the coast is clear?"

"Reasonably," Tarble replied. Dende had obviously turned the scouter back to Tarble. "Trunks is already on the ship and is starting it. He says there's no one there. We waited until the guards by the lab left to do their rounds. You should be good. Dende says it takes them about twenty minutes before they will be back to you again so you need to hurry!"

"Alright," she replied, looking nervously at the tank. Now was the time. "I'll call you guys if I need your help," she said.

Bulma took her scouter off and placed it on one of the tables in the lab. She picked up the biggest pipe she had taken from the docks weeks back and stood there a moment staring at Vegeta floating in the tank as she tried to decide where to hit the tank. She didn't want to accidentally hurt Vegeta.

She finally decided the middle was the best place to aim for rather than the top or the bottom and hopefully she wouldn't end up hitting him. Taking a deep breath, she lined the pipe up to the place she was aiming to hit and after a few mock hits, she finally hit the tank as hard as she possibly could. The glass shattered immediately and out he fell, limply towards her. She managed to awkwardly catch him somewhat, breaking his fall and preventing him from smacking down on the cold, hard, now wet floor covered in glass shards and of course, an alarm sounded off. Her knees buckled from his dead weight on her; sure he may not be much taller than her, but he sure was heavy.

She awkwardly rolled him over onto his back so he was half in her lap and trying to get him out of the glass debris. She carefully removed an IV in his arm along with the electrodes from his chest and arms and the oxygen mask from his face. When she looked down at him she swallowed down a torrent of emotions; he was so gaunt looking. Bardock had been correct; the regeneration tank had given him just enough nutrients to keep him alive, but that was about it. His cheekbones were protruding badly and his entire face looked sunken in. She had noticed his weight loss, more so after visiting with Past Vegeta and the Vegeta in that alternate universe but even then, she hadn't realized how far gone he was until now with him out and with the oxygen mask now off his face.

She wondered how long it would be until he woke up. She needed to get him out of here before the guards responded to the alarm and flooded the lab. She pulled herself together after caressing his cheek gently.  _ **Let's get you out of here,**_  she thought to herself.

"Bulma," he managed croak out groggily; his voice sounding strained, grated and unfamiliar to her after years of not being used.

"Just shush and save your energy," she said, trying to maneuver him so that she could get him out of the room, dried off, dressed and then figure out how she was going to get to the ship without being detected now that the alarm was going off. "I'm getting you out of here. We're leaving."

 _ **Go. Leave me and go,**_  he said. It was easier for him to communicate mentally with her instead of speaking.

"No, Vegeta. I'm not leaving without you. I've made it this far," she grunted trying to get herself under his shoulder so she could support him and get moving. "Now help me get you out of here."

Vegeta coughed violently trying to help her but could not. He was simply too weak to even stand on his own. The thought occurred to her then that his muscles had probably atrophied during the time he had been in there, suspended in the water and not being used. How could she have not even considered that, she lamented, giving herself a mental kick in the ass.

She looked around frantically trying to find something, anything to set him on so that she could move him quickly. Unfortunately there was nothing and there was no time to call the boys on their scouter to ask them for help. Not now if they were on the ship waiting for her. She didn't want to ruin their chances of escape if she was caught. "Vegeta, I'm going to need you to fly," she murmured. "Or at least hover or something. I can't carry you or even drag you; you're too heavy. We have to get out of here,  _now_."

"Then go," he said.  _ **Leave me here and go. Take Trunks.**_ "I cannot believe you are still here!"he snarled, the effort of trying to physically move and just being angry with her had him out of breath already.

"Oh, you're welcome, Vegeta," she snapped sarcastically at him. "Because I happily stayed here for seven years trying to devise a plan to get us all out of here together only to have you criticize me for it not two minutes out of that thing. Do you have any idea what I-"

 _ **We can bicker about it at a later time; that is if we have a later time,**_  he interrupted her.

She swallowed down a lump of emotion threatening to come to the surface. Not just because he had reprimanded her for staying and trying to rescue him, she'd known that would happen and he would not be pleased, but she was just taken aback that he was awake and cognoscente of his surroundings. They were even arguing! After so long of nothing, even his harsh words and disapproval was like a breath of fresh air to her.

"We have some time. Not a lot, but some," she said once she'd pulled herself together; the blaring sound of the alarm was making it difficult for her to concentrate. "No one should be here for another few minutes."

_**You are certain?** _

"Reasonably. I mean with the schedule being as predictable as clock work and we rigged the security surveillance camera on a loop so no one can see us. Now that the alarm is going off, they're going to come back, I should have about five minutes to get you out of here." She lied. She had no idea how long it would take for them to investigate the alarm and if there would be more than just the sparse night crew coming.

_**Wonderful. What happens when they come in?** _

"I'll cause a scene because you're gone and, you know what? Don't concern yourself over it. I've got it all thought out for all of us," she said trying again to lift or move him somewhat but with no luck.

"I can't," he grunted in annoyance as he tried to move himself to help her.  _ **You are certain there is no one coming immediately?**_ He asked, trying to catch his breath from exertion. He needed a few minutes to gather enough energy to even be able to hover and move himself.

She managed to help him sit up and when she was sure he wouldn't fall over, she ran to the next room to find some place to hide him. She was fretting over it. She had thought she'd thought of everything and every possible scenario and here she had overlooked the most obvious issue: Gero had prepared for the event of her physically breaking him out and it was probably only a matter of minutes before they would be swamped by guards, nor had she considered Vegeta's his inability to be able to walk or do anything to assist her. Not with that ki collar still on and she didn't have the time to figure out how to remove it now.

She managed to move a table towards a closet with a door. If she could just get him in there, maybe she could pull this off. She looked around the room; it was a disheveled mess anyway as always. If she could get Vegeta into that closet and block the door with the table maybe, just  _maybe_  if she was lucky they would not think to go in there and check for him. It was a long shot, but it just might work. There was enough junk laying around from her trashing the lab that she could place on the table that it may not even occur to them to remember that there was even a closet there.

"I have to move you now, Vegeta," she said quietly, not wanting to rush him or be impatient but they needed to hurry or they  _would_  be caught.

Bulma maneuvered herself under his right arm, placing it across her shoulders and on three she slowly stood up. It wasn't easy, but she managed to drag him up to the closet just barely. She managed to set him down and help him put on a shirt and pants somewhat so he wouldn't get cold.

 _ **I do not sense anyone on the way,**_  he said.

They sat there a moment wordlessly before she crawled over to him and wrapped him in a blanket and kept her arms around him, trying to rub his arms, legs and torso brusquely through his clothes in an effort to warm him up a bit as she thought of anther plan. As she was doing this, his head drooped back onto her neck; he was still extremely drowsy as the sedative they had been giving him in the tank had not worn off. She thanked whatever gods that were out there that he had even woken up at all once he had been released from the tank. If he hadn't, she would have been worried. She stopped what she was doing and hugged him close to her and it was then that she started to cry. "I'm so glad you're alright, I've missed you so much and I was so afraid I'd never get you out of there."

"Enough," he grunted groggily, brushing her cheek with his lips.  _ **Get emotional later on if we make it out of here; not right now. You need to think clearly if we are going to get us out. Where is Trunks?**_

She nodded. He was right. Now was not the time to get emotional. "Trunks is waiting for us at the ship and it's ok for me to be emotional. It will help me put on a believable performance in a few minutes if I need to."

_**What are you doing?** _

"It doesn't matter. Just relax and try to regain some of your strength. When I get back we'll have to move quickly." She said, brushing him off. "Whatever happens next just keep quiet, I've got it under control, alright? I just need you to keep quiet."

"What are you going to do?" He asked her again, out loud this time, looking at her seriously.

"Nothing, just cause a bit of a scene. My success here depends on you keeping quiet and absolutely still."

Vegeta growled in aggravation. He knew he wasn't in in a position to help her either way.

 _ **Trust me,**_  she said to him.  _ **I've put a lot of thought into this ok?**_

 _ **Be careful.**_  Was all he said.

 _ **I will. I didn't arrange all this to screw it up now. Just no matter what they say or do you can't give yourself away.**_  She said, kissing him quickly, before concealing him in the closet and running out of the room. She quickly wiped up the dripping trail of water leading into the room, redirecting it to look like it was headed out of the lab with a towel before changing into a dry lab coat, capsulated the steel pipe she had used to smash the regen tank with along with the towels and wet lab coat and quickly straightened her appearance up.

"Boys, I got your father out, but the tank was rigged with an alarm that's going off," she said into the scouter.

"Is that what that is?" Trunks replied. "Do you want me to come down over there?"

Bulma thought about it for a moment. She didn't want them to get caught, but there was no way she'd be able to move Vegeta on her own. "Trunks, do you know that long trolley I use for laying on while working under the ships?"

"Yea,"

"Bring it to the lab," she instructed. "Your father can't walk. I can't carry him. I'll roll him to the dock."

"Why don't I just carry him?" Trunks asked.

"Because as soon as you bring it here, I need you to get back to the ship!"

Trunks sighed and she knew he was probably shaking his head at her. "Alright. I'm on my way. Just be careful."

"I will," she replied. "I have to put my scouter away now. I'll see you when you get here." she said, snapping it shut and shoving it in her pocket.

 _ **Woman, there are three guards coming your way now,**_  Vegeta said to her and it felt so good having him  _with_ her again.

Bulma took a deep breath, settled her nerves a moment before she started to cry and within seconds, three guards showed up to see what the issue was.

"Where's Vegeta?" She screamed at them as soon as they ran in.

They looked at the mess on the floor and the empty and smashed regeneration tank in bewilderment and then in confusion at her. One of them shook their head and the other one looked at her suspiciously.

"What happened here?" One asked her.

"How should I know? I was working in the ship docks all day like always when I heard the alarm go off, so I rushed down here to check on him and he's gone!" She rambled on in near hysterics. "Who took him? And why?"

"I-I'm not sure ma'am," the one guard answered. "When did you discover he was missing? He was here the last time we walked through here about fifteen minutes ago. If someone wanted to remove him, no one informed us of it."

"Do you think he could have broken out on his own perhaps?" The other, more suspicious guard asked her, still watching her closely for any kind of slip up.

"He's been placed into a drug induced coma for the last seven years, you idiot!" Bulma shrieked at him, beginning to cry again. "Even if by some miracle he did manage to wake up, he's been in there so long he wouldn't be able to walk or do much of anything in terms of escape. God you guys are stupid!"

"She makes a good point," the second guard pointed out.

"Where is he?" She demanded again.

"We don't know," the first guard answered, inspecting the broken gravity chamber. "Why don't you tell us? Don't you have some freakish mental connection with him?"

"The bond?"

"Yes. Shouldn't you know where he's at?"

"No, not if he's in a coma. It only works if we are both awake, you moron. I can't sense him at all. And don't you think if I knew where he was, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you?" she cried.

The two other guards nodded in agreement. "We need to call Cold and ask him if he knows anything about this and you are going to have to come with us for questioning."

"Questioning?" she repeated, wiping her eyes. "What do I have to be questioned about? I'm a prisoner here, remember? I only came to check on my husband and found him to be missing. Why would  _I_  still be here if I was involved?"

"Perhaps it is a clever escape attempt." One of them said. "We need to do a thorough search of the immediate premises before we notify Cold about Vegeta's  _mysterious_  disappearance. I am sure you understand our side."

"Have at her," she sighed, gesturing for them to search the adjoining room. "I have already looked in there and he's not there. I would rather you focused your search to the rest of the base. It's obvious! Someone took him!"

"And why is that so obvious?"

"Look! There's a water trail leading out  _that_  way for starters!" she sniffed while pointing to the floor and the exit door.

The three guards paused their search of the room for a moment to investigate her observation.  _ **God, I'm good!**_ She gloated to herself.

 _ **Do not get cocky.**_ Vegeta replied, much to her surprise. She assumed he would have passed out by now. Or rather she had  _hoped_  he had; that way she wouldn't have to worry about him flying off the handle if these guys got belligerent with her.

"You are to remain here in your chambers while we notify King Cold of the situation." One of them said to her.

"I expect you to find out who's done this," she said in a reasonable tone. "Make sure you check Dr. Gero's personal room too! I don't trust him to have not taken him and be dissecting him at this moment."

"Very well, we will check in on him as well," the other said. "In the meantime, you are not to leave the lab until further notice, is that understood?"

"I want answers!" she cried, becoming hysterical again. "I have worked hard for you people, do you think-"

She was cut off as the suspicious guard grabbed her by the hair and slammed her hard against a wall, knocking the wind out of her. She felt dizzy and light headed as the side of her head made contact with it.

"You are right, you are a prisoner here," he said, leaning into her. "I do not care how long you have been here for, you are still  _not_  to be trusted."

Before she was fast enough to come up with a response, she felt a burst of a warm breeze and the sound of ki before the guard let her go and was on the floor next to her.

She turned around, still feeling dazed and confused by the sudden change of her surroundings yet again and was surprised to see Trunks standing not far from her. The other two guards were on the floor, dead and he was picking up one of their scouters.

"Everything in the lab is as it should be, false alarm." He said into it. "Yes, Vegeta is still contained and his wife is here. She was woken up by it… I'll write up a formal report immediately, yes. Let King Cold and Dr. Gero know that everything is fine."

As soon as the conversation was finished, he crushed the scouter in his hand.

"Trunks," she cried, rushing to him and giving him a hug. "Thank god you came when you did. We need to hurry."

"Where's dad?" he asked, looking around.

"In the closet over there. He's got a perception filter on, so be careful, you may not see him," she said, "Did you bring the trolley?"

"Of course," he replied, stepping out of the lab and wheeling it in.

"Perfect, now help me get your father on there and get back to the ship before anyone else comes. I don't trust that Gero won't come and check anyway."

"I'll help you load dad, but I'll wheel you both out and to the docks," he said. "I can get you there faster and since we're all wearing a filter, we can all hide if we remain still. Besides, who will defend you if you run into trouble?"

"You're right," she nodded in agreement. So far the well planned escape wasn't going off as easy as she had hoped. "How long until the security cams are back to normal?"

"Hell if I know," he shrugged. "Let's just go!"

They moved the table and let Vegeta out of the closet. He was still wrapped in the blanket and had fallen asleep. Bulma helped Trunks place him carefully on the trolley before she got on there and within minutes, they were on their way.

Bulma was shocked as the halls were empty. Had no one been concerned or even curious about the alarm that had gone off? It was unbelievable to her, but she wasn't going to question it. She hugged Vegeta closer to her as Trunks quickly but quietly wheeled them down the halls until she realized they'd made it to the docks.

-0-0-0-

Dr. Gero burst into his lab in a panic. What a horrible, rude awakening this was; the alarm on his watch blaring at him. It had taken him several moments to realize what it was and several other minutes to dress and call the android to come to his rooms. By then, the alarm had ceased and the android reported that it had apparently been a false alarm.

That didn't sit well with him. There were no false alarms when it came to his lab.

He gaped in horror as he looked around at the three slain guards and found his lab to be an absolute disaster. The regeneration tank containing Vegeta was broken and he was nowhere to be seen, other experiments looked like they had been destroyed and he could tell immediately that there were things missing.

He snarled in rage as he turned back towards Bulma's bedroom only to find it completely empty as he had half expected. "That little bitch!" he roared, racing back into the lab and hitting the alarm button.

"Go and find them! Now!" he shouted at the Android.

"What seems to be the problem?" A voice on the intercom came from the alarm.

"The prisoner Prince Vegeta and his wife seem to have escaped and my lab has been ransacked! Notify King Cold immediately!"

-0-0-0-

Everyone was safely boarded on the ship when they heard the alarm go off again. Tarble was in the pilot's seat, ready to go when he hesitated as guards began flooding the docks.

"What do I do?" he asked in panic.

"Just stay where you are," Bulma told him. "No one can see us. They might be able to  _hear_ us, but as long as we don't move, we should be alright."

The guards swept the docks, looking between all the ships, but not seeing them as Bulma had hoped. After a few minutes they began searching inside a few of the ships but found nothing and moved on, leaving only two guards guarding the entrance presumably in case they decided to make an escape.

Tarble waited a few more minutes before launching the ship as quickly as it would go and off they went. Once they were in the air and out of the planet's atmosphere with their destination routed, Trunks detonated the EMP bomb as Bulma had instructed him to do. Hopefully that would prevent any of King Cold's soldiers from following them any time soon. Feeling content that they would be alright, he left Tarble to pilot the ship alone and sought out his mother and father.

It was the first time he had seen his father in any kind of state other than lifelessly suspended in the light green liquid of the regeneration tank. Any real memory of his father he could barely remember; it was so vague that at this point he wasn't sure if they were real or just memories he had fabricated.

He quietly crept into the back of the ship where his mother was urgently tending to his father. Trunks wasn't sure why he felt so much apprehension at seeing him. He was nervous and almost afraid to be seen by his father.

What he saw shocked him.

His mother was leaning over him, trying to get him to sit up so she could put a sweater on him. Trunks stood there dumbly as he watched her struggle with trying to put his arms through the long sleeves.

"Oh, Trunks," she grunted from exertion. "Can you please help me?"

Trunks nodded and bent to help her. He clenched his teeth and swallowed a lump in his throat at the sight of his father; he was like a shell of a man. He did not know him before this and could not make a comparison, but the muscle definition beneath the drooped skin indicated that he had at one time possibly could have been in good shape.

All his life he remembered everyone telling him how strong his father was, how he had so much to live up to. Even from his mother it was always:  _You need to be strong like your father_.

Looking at the man before him, all he saw was weakness. Weakness and frailty. He knew he was being overly critical, but he could not help it.

Trunks was brought up to believe that weakness was the worst kind of ailment and here his father, who had at one point supposedly been one of the universe's most strongest and fierce warriors, was currently weaker than his human mother.

He made eye contact with him and froze. While weak and helpless in bodily appearance, the fire of determination, rage and anger burned bright in his black eyes.

"Trunks," Vegeta grunted in recognition.

"Yes," he answered hesitantly.

Vegeta did not say anything further, only winced and grunted in discomfort as he attempted to help Bulma clothe him. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath as he tried to move his arm around to help her but could not.

Once she got his sweater on, she tried with the pants. "Trunks, I'm going to need you to lift him once I've got his legs in," she instructed.

"Leave it!" Vegeta snarled.

"Vegeta you're freezing cold," she objected, putting socks on his feet before sliding a foot through one of the pant legs.

"Leave it alone," he ground out again, his voice strained from not using his vocal cords for so long. He sounded like rusty nails on the pavement. It hurt to speak, but it came more natural to him at the moment than to speak to her through the bond. "Get rid of this damned ki collar first!"

"That's next on my list. It may take me a few minutes, just let me get you dressed and I'll get started on it. Then you'll be warmer."

"I can warm myself up with my ki, woman!" he snarled.

"Well, you're just going to have to wait," she said, completely ignoring him as she continued to slide his other leg into his pants. "Alright, Trunks, I need you to lift him up a moment so I can slide these up."

"Do not touch me, boy." He said in a warning tone.

"Just do it, Trunks." Bulma insisted, completely unfazed by his uncooperative and surly demeanor.

Vegeta snarled in what Trunks wasn't sure was discomfort or anger that she was blatantly going against his expressed wishes.

He grabbed him around his waist from behind and was shocked at how light weight he was.

Bulma quickly pulled the pants up as best as she could and Trunks set him down again. Unfortunately, he was as limp as a rag doll and unable to sit up on his own, so Trunks remained next to him with his arm supporting him up so he was in a sitting position.

"Just stay with him there, Trunks. I need to grab my tools." Bulma said, getting up and walking further down the ship.

"Go," Vegeta growled.

"Huh?"

"Just  _go_ , brat," he repeated. "I do not want you here. It is bad enough your mother did not respect my wishes and leave me behind on that cursed rock."

Trunks frowned in offense. "Do you even know what she went through to get you out? Of course not! You've been sleeping this entire time! So you have no idea how many times we could have left and gotten out of there but didn't, all because she refused to leave you behind."

"You should have  _made_  her leave!" Vegeta snarled back.

"You either don't know mom very well or have forgotten what she's like for you to say something like that." Trunks snorted, dragging him to the side with such ease that Vegeta cringed inwardly and if he could have, he would have smacked him away.

"Just go," Vegeta said quietly.

"Fine!" Trunks snapped at him. "Don't say  _thank you for getting me out_  or  _wow I'm really proud of you Trunks_."

"Feh," Vegeta spat. "What is there to be proud of? Your main priority and responsibility was to protect and watch over your mother. You should have gotten her out!"

"Well I couldn't until now!" Trunks argued back now just as angry. "You were-"

"Hey!" Bulma snapped, glaring at both of them. "Now it's been an exhausting and emotional day for all of us. We should be happy that we all made it out together and in one piece and that we aren't being followed-"

"That you know of," Vegeta interrupted.

"That's enough out of you!" Bulma said, pointing a finger at him in warning as though he were a small child.

"Now Trunks, just maybe give us a few minutes," she said, putting an arm around his shoulders and ushering him out and back towards the cockpit. Once they were alone, she stepped in front of him and looked right at him, her hands on his shoulders. "I know this isn't going to be easy for any of us, you especially but please, Trunks, cut your father some slack. He's in a bad way, far worse than I thought-"

"Then why is he so ungrateful?" Trunks asked, hurt evident in his voice. "He didn't even thank us. We could have just left-"

"Enough, okay?" she cut him off. "Your father is very proud and isn't used to being helpless-"

"Well he's only been helpless for as long as I can remember and now he's weaker than you-"

"Trunks Briefs!" Bulma snapped at him angrily. "You will mind how you talk about your father. Now go and make sure Tarble is alright. If he's tired, take turns piloting the ship."

"Mom," he objected. "I didn't mean it. It's just that he said he didn't want me around and then he started lecturing me about not making you leave him behind."

"I know, Trunks, I know. Just leave your father to me, alright?" she said sympathetically. "I'm sure it's killing him that he's in the state he is. I have no doubt he would have rather been left behind than have had us, you especially, see him like this. Just give him some time to recover, cut him some slack. Once he's better and we land, I have no doubt he will be very proud of you. Alright?"

"Okay, mom," he sighed and turned back to go sit with Tarble up front.

"Woman!" she heard Vegeta bellow but it came out more as a hack. "Get this infernal thing off of me!"

Bulma took a deep breath and counted to ten silently before exhaling heavily.

"Yes, I'm coming," she said, walking back to him and kneeling beside him. "Alright, let's see what this thing is made of," she said to herself, picking up her screw driver and feeling around it.

"Watch it," Vegeta winced as her fingers pried under it and onto the raw skin of his neck underneath it.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I'm trying to feel if there's a switch or something in it from the inside."

"You checked that before, there isn't," he grumbled irritably.

"Yes, I know that Vegeta, but I also didn't exactly have the time or ample opportunity examine it properly and I need to figure out how to open it because it's solid."

"Hmmn," he grunted before he started shaking again.

"Are you alright?" she asked, ceasing her inspection on the collar.

He didn't say anything but she could tell he was still cold. She reached behind her and wrapped a blanket around him and began to run her arms up and down in an effort to warm him up.

"Would you quit that and just get the damned collar off of me!" he demanded shakily as he shivered.

"Would you quit complaining?" she snapped at him before going back to look at the ki collar again. "I am doing the best I can here."

"Well we all know how things worked out last time when you supposedly tried your best," he snorted and then regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. He knew he was being ungrateful and completely unreasonable, but he could not help himself.

"Thanks Vegeta," she sighed, choosing to ignore the cutting remark altogether. "You're just going to have to wait and be patient and trust that I am doing my absolute best with what I have to work with here."

He sighed and didn't say anything else. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. All he wanted to do was sleep and replenish his energy, then he would feel better.

"There we go," she said triumphantly a few minutes later as it released. Bulma ever so carefully removed it from around his neck, wincing as she saw how raw his skin was; all those years in the regeneration tank had made the skin under the heavy collar blister.

Once she had it off of him, she got up. "What are you doing with it?" he asked.

"Throwing it into the garbage disposal shoot and ejecting it just in case there's a tracking device in it so they can't follow us."

"Hmmmm," he grunted in approval.

When she came back, his head was leaning against the wall, his eyes were closed and his mouth was wide open. She wanted to take a look at the damaged skin on his neck but at the same time didn't want to disturb him; however he couldn't possibly be comfortable like that.

She knelt down in front of him and looked at him carefully for a long moment. He was such a mess, she noted sadly. She reached out and touched the side of his face gently almost as if she needed to touch him to wrap her mind around the fact that he was actually there with her and that they were finally out of there.

Bulma leaned in and brushed his cheek with her lips ever so softly so as not to wake him before getting up and sneaking back to the control room to check on the boys. She was so proud of them both.

"You boys alright?" she asked.

They both turned to look at her. "We're ok, mom," Tarble answered. "Is Father alright?"

"Yea, he's okay. He's resting," Bulma nodded. "I was wondering if I could get you to move him onto one of the beds in the back, Trunks? Just so that he will be a little more comfortable and he can sleep as long as he wants without disruption."

"Sure," he nodded and got up, following her to where Vegeta was sleeping; by this time his head had drooped right down in an awkward position and was slumped almost all the way forward with his head nearly in his lap. "You sure he won't be pissed if he wakes up while I'm carrying him?" he whispered to Bulma as he cautiously moved next to him.

"Who cares," she whispered back. "Just pick him up and bring him back here."

"Alright," Trunks sighed. "But if I get in trouble, I'm blaming you." He said as he picked Vegeta up carefully.

Bulma held her breath, hoping that he wouldn't wake up. She knew Trunks was right; if he woke up to Trunks carrying him, he would have an absolute conniption.

They moved him without incident. Bulma tucked him in as snugly as possible, throwing as many blankets as she could find on him to keep him warm and help him get his temperature back up as he was still shivering.

She blinked back a few tears wanting to fall and swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at him as he slept. He looked so thin and vulnerable; never had he looked like that and it shook her up. She knew it would destroy his pride that she and Trunks had seen him this way, but she didn't care. He could hate her for it the rest of her life and if she could go back, she would still take him with her.

She tried to look at his neck again, it looked bad but decided to let him rest and let the air dry it out before deciding if it needed to be dressed.

"I think he's going to be just fine," she said quietly to Trunks more trying to convince herself than anything as he slept but still was shivering as his body worked to warm itself still. "Now that I got that stupid thing off from around his neck, he hopefully just needs some rest and his body can begin repairing itself."

Trunks didn't say anything, just looked at his father and frowned deeply and she could not help but muse just how much he resembled his father despite the purple hair.

"What?" Bulma asked in alarm.

"I don't know," Trunks answered, still looking intently at his father. He stuck out his hand and closed his eyes in deep concentration. "It's too soon to tell, but his ki is very unstable. I don't know what he was like before, but something is definitely not right with him. He's shaking not because he's cold, but from shock I think."

"Well, he's had a collar that both drained his energy and suppressed his ki for seven years, Trunks. Not to mention whatever drugs he's had pumped into him all this time. I'm sure his whole system is going to be out of whack for a while, that's to be expected."

Trunks nodded but still wasn't sure. "What is it?" Bulma asked, Trunks' eerily calm demeanor starting to worry her even more than she already was about Vegeta's state. "What are you not saying?"

"I don't know. He's really weak, mom."

"Of course he is!"

"No, you don't get it," Trunks sighed in frustration trying to find a way to explain it so that she would understand how dire his father's condition was. "Ok, so you know that you have like no ki to speak of, right?"

"Yea, I know. Your father only used to remind me constantly about how weak I was." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, well let me put it this way, at the moment, he is weaker than you are. You at this point are stronger than he is." Trunks said bluntly.

Bulma covered her mouth with her hand in shock as she considered Trunks assessment. She'd assumed he would be in a bad way but weaker than her? This wasn't good. "Well, he'll recover without that collar constantly draining him, won't he?"

Trunks shrugged. "I don't know, he's pretty far gone. Honestly, and don't take this the wrong way, but if it was me in this condition, I'd rather you smother me and put me out of my misery than keep me around and be nothing more than a weak burden."

"Trunks!" she hissed, grabbing him by the forearm, dragging him urgently out of the room the way only a mother could and shutting the door so as not to potentially disturb Vegeta. "Don't you ever-!"

"Mom! Seriously, think about it!" he interrupted her in a hoarse whisper, trying to keep it down despite his frustration. "From what I know about him, from everything you and anyone else has told me about him over all these years, he would probably rather be dead than weak and useless as he is right now."

Bulma frowned and shook her head even though a part of her knew that Trunks was right. Vegeta wouldn't be happy this way. "I don't care," she said shakily. "I didn't endure all off that shit for that long to let you talk me into putting your father down like some kind of lame animal. You don't know him! You don't know  _anything_ about him. He is the strongest person I have ever known. His body may be weak right now, but his mind isn't. He has the time now to recover and recoup and I will do everything in my power to get him back to what he was before."

"That may not happen, Mom," Trunks objected gently. "I'm not trying to be mean or insensitive. I'm being practical. I just don't want you to get your hopes up and have him say something to upset you once he wakes up. I think it's going to take a whole lot more than just a long nap and hoping for the best for him to recover is all."

"I appreciate that, Trunks, I do; but if you knew how he was and the things he could do, how driven and determined he is, you would understand," she said trying to keep her emotions together. "He will not give up. For one, I won't let him. Secondly, he will push himself to the brink of death to get well enough to finish Cold off for what he has done to our family and his people. That is the man your father is. If you can't support me then I will drop you off at the nearest port. I can fly the ship on my own."

 “Come on, Mom,” Trunks sighed. “I didn’t mean that I wasn’t being supportive; I’ll help as much as I can but I just don’t see how he would be happy with having us here and seeing him in such a vulnerable state.”

“I get that, but we will wait and see,” she sniffled stubbornly. “I’m going to sit with him in case he wakes up and needs anything.”

Trunks nodded. “Try and get some rest too, you look like hell.”

“Thanks, dear,” she snorted before leaning in and giving him a hug.

“Mom,” he whined in embarrassment.

“Don’t you _mom_ me!” she said sternly, tightening her arms around his neck. “We somehow made it through everything together as a family. We need to stick together now more than ever.”

“I know, mom,” he sighed, hugging her back. “Go get some rest. I’m going to go relieve Tarble. He may come in, I know he was worried about Dad.”

“Sure,” she nodded, letting him go. “Tell him he can come in, but he needs to be quiet. I don’t want to disturb your father and I don’t want any more discussion about his condition.”

“Okay,” Trunks agreed, slinking off down the ship quietly, though he still felt that his mother was making a mistake where Vegeta was concerned. He knew if it was him, he would not want anyone to see him like that. It was disgraceful. He just hoped that either his father made a miraculous recovery and proved him wrong or his mother would have enough sense to let him go in such a way that his dignity was left intact.

“Hey, how is mom?” Tarble asked.

“She’s ok,” Trunks sighed. “Want to switch for a while?”

“Sure,” Tarble nodded, setting the auto pilot and getting up. “There are no asteroids so we should be okay to leave it on auto for a while. I turned the scanners on and they should alert us within thirty minutes of an approaching asteroid field or any other on coming objects or ships we may come across.”

“That’s really good, but I’m going to pilot for a while,” Trunks said, sitting in the pilots chair. “I need to concentrate on something else for a bit. Go get some rest if you want.”

“Is everything okay with Dad?”

Trunks sighed and shook his head, unsure of how to answer him. “I don’t know, Tarble. I really don’t know. They really did a number on him and everything that they did has really left him damaged. I’m not sure he will be able to come back from it; but mom is hopeful so that’s a good sign, right?”

“Yea! If mom thinks he’s going to be okay, then I know he will!” Tarble said enthusiastically. “I really want to spar with him.”

“Yea, it may be a while before he’s up to that, Tarble.”

“Oh,” he said, frowning to himself. “Mom said he’s the Prince of our whole entire race. That means he’s stronger than both of us! He’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Trunks sighed, wishing Tarble would just go away for the time being.

-0-0-0-

Bulma took a moment to pull herself together and went back into the room to see Vegeta sleeping soundly. It broke her heart to hear Trunks say the things he had. What if he was right? What if Vegeta never got better?

She shook her head and refused to believe that.

She carefully crawled into bed next to him and got herself under the mass of blankets she was happy now that she'd had the foresight to bring; his skin was still very cool to the touch and this alarmed her. He should have begun warming up by now, she would have thought.

Instead of panicking, she settled herself next to him and draped an arm over his chest and nuzzled her neck on his shoulder hoping that she could transfer some of her body heat onto him.  _ **Don't you quit on me now, you stubborn Saiyan!**_

Bulma smiled to herself when she thought she felt his mind brush hers ever so subtly. He didn't say anything but she was sure he'd heard and acknowledged her and for the moment, that was more than enough for her to reassure her that Vegeta would be just fine. It may be a long road, but he would get there and she would make sure she was there beside him every step of the way.

She moved her hand and rested it on his chest just above his heart and felt his heartbeat. It was beating slower than she remembered it to be, but it was beating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! Yaay! They're out! Finally! What a relief, hey? So this chapter was getting really long, so I split it up into two… So it won't be long before the next one is up hopefully. It just needs some minor details added and editing.
> 
> I forgot to mention when I posted the last chapter… There is a story that will chronicle the other timeline Bulma went back to warn. It's called Neutron Star Collision. Chapter 1 is up and posted already so if you haven't checked that out yet, go for it! I'm going to be working on that in the next week so Chapter 2 should be up soon for those of you who have read the first one!


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kind reviews everyone! I'll leave my somewhat lengthy author's note for the end of the chapter. I do recommend reading it as it pertains to something important with regards to Trunks and Tarble that I have made an error on and also with future updates.
> 
> Enjoy!

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes** _

_**Chapter 45** _

Bulma woke up with a start and it took her a few moments to remember where she was, how she'd gotten there and to convince herself that it was real. They  _had_  escaped King Cold's base together and in one piece. She turned her head and looked at Vegeta, who was still sound asleep in the exact same position he had been when she'd put him to bed the previous day.

She carefully laid her cheek on his chest and listened to the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat and breathing. His breaths were slow and heavy and she wondered if that was a good sign or not. His heartbeat seemed a little quicker than it had been last night. He wasn't shaking or shivering anymore at least, and he felt warm. She was wanting to look at his neck, but didn't want to disturb him.

Bulma stayed that way for a while, just marveling quietly in his presence and the feeling of relief that they were actually free. She hadn't really taken a moment to reflect and let that sink in at all when they'd rushed off the base. She lingered there, laying close to Vegeta for a few minutes before carefully getting up and leaving him to go check on the boys.

"Is he okay?" Tarble asked as she walked into the small kitchen where Trunks, Tarble and Dende were all sitting together already eating or drinking.

"I don't know," Bulma shook her head. "I'm hoping he just needs plenty of rest is all."

"Trunks said he's pretty weak," Dende said. "Is there anything I can do to help him recover?"

"Yea he is," she nodded. At this point she absolutely hated the word  _weak_. It was such a horrible, vague description, one which she shuddered to use when describing anything about Vegeta. Not to mention she was sick and tired of being referred to herself as weak by everyone else. Yet the word seemed to follow her around, no matter where she went. "I don't know if there's anything you can do for him, Dende. You can go see him for yourself, just don't wake him."

The four of them went into the room quietly and looked in on Vegeta as he slept soundly.

As Tarble looked at him, he felt a tremendous, almost overwhelming feeling of empathy for him in his condition despite the fact that he was still really confused about what his relationship with this man was. He deeply respected and looked up to him as a father because of the things he had been told about him growing up, but wasn't sure how to address him. He was more than certain that Bulma wasn't his real mother but what about Vegeta? They looked almost identical so they had to be related in some way and while that did not bother him if Vegeta wasn't his actual father, he was still extremely curious about his origin. If it turned out that they weren't his parents however, he also didn't know how to look at them in any other way than as his parents. It was confusing. However, Trunks was right. Vegeta was extremely weak; shockingly so. "Mom, Umm. He, he's..."

"I know," she said sadly. "Has there been any improvement in his condition, Trunks?"

Trunks closed his eyes and focused solely on his father's energy. It had improved a little bit, but not enough that he thought it was worth celebrating over and giving his mother false hope that he would make any kind of recovery.

"Not really," Trunks replied. "He has a little bit in that he is somewhat stable, but his ki is still the same. He has no strength."

Dende approached him and lightly placed a hand on Vegeta's shoulder for a moment before shaking his head. "Physically he's fine, Bulma. There are no injuries for me to heal. Whatever is wrong with him is internal and not something that can be fixed."

"What does that mean?" She asked in alarm.

"I don't really know how to explain it," Trunks answered. "Yesterday he was so drained of energy and ki that it was dangerous. His aura or his ki, I guess, was up and down and really unstable. Almost like a flickering candle. Now, it's leveled out. He's still weak and his energy still much lower than it should be, but it's par. Not fluctuating all over the place."

"Okay, so does that mean he's going to be alright?"

"I don't know." Trunks shrugged.

"It's like he's in a deep coma." Tarble pipped up.

"Yea, you could say that." Trunks nodded in agreement, as did Dende.

Bulma looked at him in concern, unsure if that was a good thing or not. "Well if his body needs to rest, then I guess we will leave him alone and let him sleep until he wakes up." She said optimistically.

"Yea,  _if_  he ever wakes up," Trunks snorted, leaving them standing there still contemplating Vegeta's condition.

Bulma was quiet a long moment as she simply looked at Vegeta, hoping with every fiber of her being that he would wake up soon and be okay.

"Trunks is just as upset and worried as you are." Tarble said quietly.

"I know," she sighed. "Unfortunately he's a bit too much like his father in some aspects."

Tarble nodded. "I've been meaning to ask you for a while now what my relation to him is?" he asked, pointing at Vegeta and Bulma looked at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up now," he said, blushing and looking down in shame. Here they were fresh off King Cold's base and Vegeta was possibly fighting for his life, his mother was worried sick about him and he was wanting answers about his identity.

"It's alright," Bulma replied once she caught herself. He had taken her completely off guard.

"I know you aren't my real mother," he said. "Oh, I didn't mean that like it sounded. You  _are_  my mother, but I know we aren't  _related._  Trunks disagrees, but it's just a feeling I've had for a while now. I think Trunks and I are related and I know Vegeta and I are related, I mean, I look just  _like_  him, so I know we must be related. If Trunks and I are half-brothers then does that mean Vegeta is my father too and we share different mothers?"

Bulma sighed. She wasn't up for this now. What did it matter? On the other hand, the poor kid deserved to finally learn the truth and a distraction from her worries about Vegeta would be nice. Not to mention, it wasn't fair to not prepare him for the truth if Raditz and Asia were still staying on Callisto. "You know what? It's a long story, kid. But I'll tell you what, if you don't mind helping me fix us some food for the day, I'll tell you the whole story because now that we are out of there, it's time you knew everything."

"Can I stay with him?" Dende asked. He didn't have to eat anyway and he wanted to contribute to something since he couldn't fly the ship or cook. He was so grateful they had gotten him away from Gero and were taking him someplace where he would be reunited with at least one fellow member of his race. Perhaps there was hope that he could even go home one day. "I don't think I can do anything for him because I can only heal physical ailments and injuries, not restore ki."

"You can stay with him if you want," Bulma said kindly. "You are more than happy to join us in the kitchen though even if you aren't going to have something to eat. Then you aren't just all by yourself."

"No, I'll stay with Vegeta and let you know if anything changes with him or if he wakes up."

"Thank you, Dende," she smiled at him. "Can you do me a huge favor though?"

"Certainly,"

"It doesn't have to be now, but can you take a look at Vegeta's neck? The ki collar seems to have really marred up his skin where it sat. I don't know if it's because his body reacted negatively to it or if it's because he was in the tank for so long, but his while neck is blistered and raw."

Dende frowned as he stood up to investigate. Bulma pulled the sheet back a little so he could get a better look.

He touched it very carefully and within a few moments his neck looked normal again. "It's the long term effect of the collar," he said. "His body was probably fighting against it the entire time it was on."

"Oh, Vegeta," Bulma sighed, shaking her head and lightly ran her fingers through his hair. "Gero really did a number on you,"

"It will take time, but he will recover, Bulma," Dende said confidently. "Physically he's just fine. His body just needs to rebalance itself out without interference and then he should be well enough to wake up. Though he may need some help with relearning to walk and such. I don't know how bad off he is in that regard. He may be fine within a few days, or it could be months. We'll just have to wait and see."

Bulma reluctantly left Vegeta and went back to the kitchen with Tarble and she began telling him the story about Asia and her request to watch over him while she was gone as they began preparing a meal together.

"I didn't know your mother really well, but because she knew that Vegeta took mine and Trunks' safety very seriously, she thought I would be able to look after you while she was sent on the mission to defeat King Cold," she told him.

"So I don't get it," Tarble said with a frown, trying to understand everything all at once. "Why did you tell everyone Trunks and I were twins then?"

"Because I promised your mother before she left that I would look after you as if you were my own," Bulma said. "And since you and Trunks were born only a few months apart and were both babies and about the same size, no one questioned me on it. I insisted on bringing you with me."

"Well it's a good thing you did, I guess." Tarble shrugged. "Since Cold destroyed Vegeta-sei."

Bulma smiled. "I'm glad I did too. I'm sorry I kept all this from you all these years, but it just seemed easier at the time and I didn't want anyone to know. King Cold wanted the entire Saiyan race wiped out. I didn't know what he would do if he found out the truth about you so I kept it to myself as a way of protecting you, not to deliberately lie to you."

"No, I understand," he nodded thoughtfully. "So, where we are going now, is my birth mom going to be there?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Bulma sighed. "Vegeta said he told her to go there because that was where I was going to go, which had I not been stopped, I would have. But who knows if she stayed there or not. Hopefully she did and you can meet her when we get there. I'm sure she went crazy when she found out I never made it there. I know, I would have if I had been her."

"You think so?"

"I'm certain. She was very concerned about your safety and wellbeing which is why she entrusted me with looking after you," she assured him. "Though I know you being raised the way you were and being a child soldier for Cold wasn't what she would have wanted for you and I have felt tremendous guilt over that over the years."

"Well, you did what you thought was right, didn't you?" Tarble asked. "I mean I assume you didn't want that for Trunks either."

"No, not at all."

"So then it's ok. And we had each other. Trunks is my brother and you're my mom."

Bulma nodded and went to hug him. God knew she had come to love him as her own son and she was so happy he was being so understanding and good natured about this as he was being. Hearing something like this and having your beliefs turned upside down in your early teens wasn't an easy revelation to swallow. "Thanks kiddo that means a lot. I hope we can find your mother though. She would be very proud of you."

"You think?" he asked, lighting up. "What was she like?"

Bulma smiled. "I didn't know her all that well on a personal level, but she was an excellent warrior, one of the strongest females on your planet. She was absolutely beautiful and was very driven, but you were her whole world once she had you."

He grinned. "And what about my father? Is he with her?"

Bulma felt a drop in her stomach at the sudden thought of King Vegeta. "No, I don't think so. He was on Vegeta-sei when it was destroyed."

"Oh. What was he like?" Tarble asked.

"I didn't really know him," she said quickly, not wanting to discuss it. "If we find your mother, you will have to ask her about him, I can't really give you any insight, but you are a close relative to Vegeta. Actually, he'd be more of your half-brother I guess."

"Hmmm," he sighed, seeming more confused than distraught. "Even if we find my real birth mom, you're still my mom. Okay?"

Bulma smiled. "Whatever you want. Just don't feel bad or ruin a chance to get to know her if we find her out of loyalty to me. She's going to be very excited to meet you. Don't be afraid of getting close to her."

"I won't," he shrugged. "It's just you looked after me. When I think of a mom, I think of you. It feels weird knowing I might have another mom out there."

"I know, but it will all work out the way it's supposed to. She may have moved on elsewhere for all we know and we won't be able to find her." She warned. Truthfully she really hopped they would be able to find Asia. Bulma felt she owed it to her to find her and bring her son to her. She wanted her to know that she had fulfilled her end of their agreement to the best of her ability and hoped that she would be proud of her son. No, he wasn't as strong as Trunks, nor would he ever be, but he was a good kid with a soft heart and good head on his shoulders. She was thankful the two boys had had each other. No matter if they found Asia or not, they were brothers and had gotten each other through much.

"I sometimes dream about a woman," he admitted. "Like Trunks has vague memories of you and dad, or Vegeta, I guess. That always bothered me and that's why I started to wonder about where I came from. I remember a woman, but not you."

"That's perfectly natural," she nodded, though she was unsure if he remembered Asia or Neesa, the nurse maid.

They finished their meal in silence and Bulma left to let Trunks know there was food. He didn't say too much and she left him alone to pilot the ship.

Bulma went to check on Vegeta again and still there was no change. What troubled her was if he was asleep in a coma, there was no way of feeding him. How could he get his strength back up if he couldn't eat?

"I'm sorry there is not much else I can do to help him." Dende said quietly.

"I don't understand," she said, sitting on the end of his bed and leaning against the wall. "I thought that if I got that collar off of him it would be fine."

"I think that's what's messed him up the most, rather than the tank," Dende said. "It's messed with the natural chemistry of his body function for so long that it's used to functioning this way. That's not something I can fix. His body needs to readjust on its own and it's been so long, it could take a while for that to happen."

"Do you think it will?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "We can only hope, right?"

"I suppose," she agreed.

"If it doesn't, we can always go to my home planet and I'll ask the elders if we can use the wishing orbs on him. You can wish to fully restore him," he suggested, sounding optimistic. "In the meantime, if he wakes up, we can start helping him be able to move again."

"I was thinking about that," she nodded. "If your people would be so kind as to allow me to use them. Even if it's only one wish, I'd be so grateful. I'd use it to help Vegeta. If he wakes up before then, we can try some physio exercises. I do know a little bit about that from back home."

Dene nodded. "I'll make sure they let you use them. You guys got me out of there. It's the least they could do. You should be able to get three wishes; I don't see why they wouldn't let you have all three."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly at him. "Three would be wonderful, but I'd be happy with just one even." Truthfully there were so many things that came to her mind that she could wish for, the trouble was narrowing it down to what. If she got one wish, she'd definitely be using it to wish for Vegeta to be fully recovered and whole again, even though he wouldn't like the idea of it. He was so stubborn, he would probably insist on doing it all himself. That was alright with her, but if he was so far gone that he couldn't recover on his own, she would be using that wish on him whether he liked it or not. Her second wish was where she wasn't sure. Should she wish to be recovered herself? Though if Vegeta did not want children, then what a waste of a wish that would be, she supposed. In which case, she'd be more than happy to settle on just wishing her hand back to normal. She definitely wanted to wish Vegeta-sei and Bardock back if she had the chance. Unfortunately, that probably also meant bringing Vegeta's father back, but that would be something she would have to worry about later on if and when it came down to it. Did people have any memory of how they died if they were revived? She certainly did not want Vegeta to find out what had happened with her and his father. She didn't think about it often because it sent her into a near panic attack every time, but she still dreamed about it every now and again and she still felt shame and disgust about it as fresh as the day it had happened.

She looked over at Vegeta again and sighed. How was she ever going to be able to tell him about that when the mere thought and memory of it still sent her reeling? And what about when he asked her about Jeyice? She shook her head and looked down at her hands as she contemplated it for another few minutes before shutting her mind off to all of it. She refused to think about it. She would deal with it and speak to Vegeta rationally about it when it came up.

-0-0-0-

Bulma stayed with him every chance she could, only taking breaks to help the boys prepare meals or sit up front in the pilots chair to make sure they were still on track. It was about a two month trip back to Callisto.

After the first week, she didn't worry so much about waking Vegeta. She  _wanted_ him to wake up as soon as possible so she could get him to eat something. She made sure there was always a ton of food prepared for when he woke up because she assumed he would be ravenous. When she sat with him though, she massaged his hands, arms, legs and feet and had been flexing them as best as she could in hopes of helping him keep his circulation going and regain some mobility.

Trunks and Tarble had spent some time with her in Vegeta's room, though conversation was kept minimal. Not only to not disturb Vegeta, but because Bulma refused to listen to any negative opinions regarding Vegeta in his current condition or doubts about his prognosis for a full recovery.

"I can't believe you kept Tarble a secret all this time," Trunks said in judgment.

"It was in everyone's best interest." She replied as she massaged Vegeta's foot. His body temperature seemed normal at least. He wasn't shivering anymore and seemed to be warm on his own, rather than because she was cuddling close to him under several blankets.

"Ya but you could have told us," he objected.

"What difference does it make?" she sighed, irritated with him.  _Everything_  with Trunks was an argument it seemed and it was beginning to wear on her. "Does it change how you feel about him?"

"No," Trunks shrugged. "Tarble  _is_ my brother no matter what."

"Well then, why are you fighting with me about this?" she snipped at him.

"It's okay, Trunks," Tarble said.

"See? If it doesn't bother him, then why are you so upset over this?" She asked Trunks.

"I don't know," he mumbled miserably, slumped on the floor. "I just feel like we've been lied to our whole lives. We were told that you and dad are criminals and that wasn't true, then we didn't know about your arrangement with Jeyice and now there's this. What else do we not know but  _should_  know?"

"You know what, I'm sorry I have kept things from you, but it was for everyone's good. Maybe when you are a parent one day, you'll understand why I tried to shelter you from certain things," she sighed in annoyance. Wishing he'd just let it go. She sympathized with him, she really did! It couldn't be easy being brought up the way he had been and then have her confusing them with the real story behind why they were captives in King Cold's base and now the origin of his brother. It was a lot to take in and he had every right to be upset and angry about it, however it wasn't her fault and she'd done everything she could to protect them.

"It just would have made a lot of things make more sense is all," Trunks admitted, sounding a little less harsh. "I get why you did and I'm glad Tarble and I had each other growing up whether we are related or not, but he got into a lot of trouble and took a lot of abuse from Jeyice because he wasn't as strong as me. They kept thinking he wasn't working hard enough and if they pushed him, he'd eventually become strong. All because they thought we were brothers. I even got punished on several occasions because Tarble wasn't at the same level as me."

"I'm sorry for that," she said whole heartedly. She still didn't know even half of what they'd endured growing up with Jeyice. She almost didn't want to know.

"Does Vegeta know about me?" Tarble asked, wanting to change the subject. He didn't hold any animosity towards Bulma for keeping his true identity a secret all this time. Somehow, deep down he'd always known but it didn't matter to him. Bulma had always treated him as though he was her own son and that was enough for him.

"Yes. He knows I brought you both with me and that I told everyone you were brothers," she confirmed with a nod.

"I'm excited but nervous to meet him," Tarble said.

"Me too," Trunks admitted quietly, looking up at the sleeping form of his father. He wanted to meet him, but at the same time almost didn't either. What would he say to him? His father had already voiced his disapproval that he hadn't gotten their mother off of King Cold's base. Which was true, but there had been no way out for so long. What else could he have done?

He had taken a beating from Jeyice, Burter and Recoome and then King Cold after he'd lost it when he'd found out about what Jeyice had done to his mother. No wonder his father thought poorly of him. The only reason he had wanted to go on mission with King Cold was to have hopefully defeated him to show his father that he was worthy, however deep down he knew he wouldn't have been ready for that.

Now that he'd had a week to think rationally about it, he was glad his mother had insisted he not go with King Cold. He supposed he'd have to find another way to show his father that he was strong and capable.

Beginning to let the weight of that fall heavier on him than it should have, he got up and left the room to pilot the ship for a little while and think about what he would say to his father once he woke up.  _If_ he woke up.

-0-0-0-

It was two and a half weeks before Vegeta finally awoke. He was still unable to move himself and was in the foulest of moods.

He'd woken up with Bulma asleep with her head on his abdomen. Unbeknownst to him, she'd been massaging his knee and thigh trying to get his blood circulation up and had fallen asleep at some point. His first reaction was wonder. Why was she here? Was he still dreaming? He'd been wandering around in the void for so long trying to find a way out. Every time he did and the scenery changed, he was thrown back in again and left to wander for hours, days, weeks, months maybe? He did not know. He tried to raise his hand to touch her hair to see if she was real, but he realized in panic that he could not move. Not his arm, hand or fingers.

"Where am I?" he asked out loud. Once again, his voice was strained and grated.

She woke up immediately and looked at him. "Vegeta!" she cried. "You're awake!"

He growled as she hugged him. "Where the fuck are we?" This was not Dr. Gero's lab, he didn't think. Nor did it resemble anywhere he'd seen on King Cold's base.

"We're on a ship and off Cold's base," she informed him. "This is the ship you prepared for me forever ago. Do you remember?"

"Hmmn," he nodded and began to cough. His throat was dry and he was so thirsty.

"I'll be right back," she said, getting up off the bed. "I'll get you something to eat and drink and then I'll answer any questions you have."

Bulma raced into the kitchen. "Vegeta's awake!" She announced to Tarble and Dende who looked like they were playing some sort of card game.

"He is?" Tarble lit up. "Can I go see him?"

"Not yet," she said, grabbing a plate and rummaging through the fridge and the assortment of food she'd kept prepared since they'd been on the ship. "Let me get some food into him and bring him up to speed on everything. Then you're more than welcome."

"Bulma, he may not be able to consume or process solid food." Dende advised her as he watched her take out dish after dish from the fridge.

"Oh my god," she groaned. "You're right! I can't believe I never thought of that sooner!" She began rummaging through the cupboards for anything that Vegeta could possibly stomach immediately in his condition. The last thing she wanted was to make him sick. "I'll need to make some soup," she mumbled grabbing a pot and filling it with water and began hacking up the bird carcass they had cooked just this morning and tossing pieces in the water to boil.

"Hey, that's supposed to be for dinner." Tarble objected.

"Too bad," she snapped. "Grab another from the freezer and defrost it. Right now, I need to make something fast that Vegeta can eat." She grabbed a pitcher of water and went through the cupboards and sprinkled in some sugar and spices. She found something that smelled of and resembled honey and grabbed a few fruits as well. "Throw all of this in the processor and turn it into juice." She instructed Tarble urgently as she continued to stir in some spices and anything else that may offer him some nutrients.

While she was waiting for Tarble, she began hacking up some vegetables to throw into her pot for soup stock. It would more than likely be a pretty bland soup, but the broth would offer him something at least in terms of nutrition and protein.

"Done," Tarble said.

"Thanks," she muttered, mixing it in with the water and stirring it. She tasted it and shrugged. It wasn't that bad. It would give him some hydration and nutrients at least until the soup was done. "Can you cut up the rest of that bird into little, tiny pieces. Leave the bones in there to simmer, but just cut it up and throw some more vegetables also cut up in as small of pieces as you can manage?"

Tarble nodded and began doing as she asked.

Grabbing the largest glass on the counter, she rushed back to Vegeta who was lying in bed looking confused and very unimpressed.

"Hey, I got something for you to drink and I'm making some soup for you," she said placing the pitcher and glass on the table and sitting on the side of the bed next to him. "Can you move at all?" She asked.

"If I could move, do you think I would still be laying here like this?"

"Alright, let's sit you up and try and get you to drink something," she said, ignoring his sarcastic remark, sliding an arm under his shoulders and pulling him up and forward so that he was sitting. She stashed his pillow up and a blanket behind him so he was sitting comfortably without her help.

She poured him a glass of whatever she'd mixed together for him. "Drink this," she said, bringing the glass to his lips. "I know it's not great, but it's something to get some kind of nourishment and hydration into you while I'm preparing the soup broth."

He looked at her and drank the contents of the glass down as quickly as possible, not noticing or caring what it tasted like. He was parched.

"Do you want more?" She asked once he was finished.

"Yes."

Bulma filled another glass and let him drink; he drank two more large glasses before he'd had enough.

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand in encouragement. "How do you feel?"

"I don't know," he said, his voice not sounding quite as rough now that it wasn't dry, but he still sounded ragged. "Not well."

"Oh, Vegeta, I was so worried about you," she said, wrapping her arms around his torso and hugging him tightly. "I know you're not yourself but you will be. You'll be back to your normal self, I promise. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Where are we going?" he asked, still feeling very sleepy, lethargic and disoriented. The room was too bright.

"We are on our way to Callisto." She answered.

"And Cold?" he asked.

"Is probably super pissed off and looking for us, but we have a cloaking device on the ship so we cannot be seen or detected on radar so he will have one hell of a time finding us. Not to mention I left a little surprise behind that should have kept all his ships and electronic devices down for a few days at least."

"He is still alive? Trunks never destroyed him?" he asked in shock.

"No, he was working on a plan, but this opportunity to get out of there came first so we took it," she sighed, knowing that would not please him. However maybe it would help motivate him to recover faster. "If we would have stayed longer to let Trunks destroy him, we'd have been there another year at  _least._  I made the executive decision to leave now and chance it, rather than wait."

"Hmmn," he grunted, not pleased with that.

"I know you don't agree, neither did Trunks, but I couldn't stay there another minute longer, Vegeta." She said. "I also didn't like how he was beginning to influence the boys, Trunks especially."

"Boys?" he repeated in confusion.

"Yes, boys," she nodded. "Do you remember Asia's son, Tarble?"

Vegeta was quiet a moment as he thought about it and then nodded somewhat. "She asked you to look after him and you brought him with you when you were taken."

"Yes," she nodded in relief that he remembered. "I told everyone they were brothers and even they thought they were until we escaped and I just told them recently."

"Hmmn," he grunted neutrally, neither pleased nor displeased.

"They're both very anxious to see you and actually meet you. Dende is here on the ship with us too," she said, not wanting to bombard him, but also wanting to prepare him for their presence soon. She couldn't keep them away forever. "They've heard a lot about you over the years."

"All fallacies, I assume?"

"No," she said gently. "I've told them all about you as soon as I was able so they know the truth about you and not the terrible things they were told growing up."

"Hmmn," he grunted again.

He didn't say anything further for a long moment, seemingly in deep thought. He looked exhausted despite all the sleeping he'd done since she'd gotten him out of the regeneration tank.

"I'll go check on the soup," she said after a moment, not wanting him to feel crowded or uncomfortable and in truth, she really didn't know what to say to him either.

Bulma went into the kitchen to check on the soup, it was really bland and not ready for consumption. She added some more spices and seasoning in hopes of moving it along a little quicker.

"Tarble says dad's awake," Trunks said walking into the kitchen.

"He is," she nodded. "He's not in a very good mood though,"

Trunks snorted, not surprised. He hadn't been in a good mood after they'd rescued him either. "Can we go see him?"

Bulma paused a moment, unsure if it was such a good idea or not. On one hand, she didn't want to overwhelm him, on the other, he had to meet them sometime. "You can, but if he's nasty to you, just let it go. For all I know he's in a lot of pain and he's not going to be happy in the state he's currently in so don't take it personally if he lashes out at you."

"I wouldn't be happy either," Trunks agreed.

"There you go, so show him a little bit of understanding. He'll lighten up in a few days, just go easy on him and just don't aggravate him," she said, not sure if she was explaining herself correctly. She knew Vegeta and how difficult he could be and that was before when he'd been whole and none of this had happened. This would be different and she had no idea how he would react to the boys being so big and grown up and seeing him in such a vulnerable state. "Where's Tarble?"

"He's up front," Trunks shrugged. "I know he really wants to see dad though,"

"Alright," she said between blowing on the giant spoon full of hot broth and giving the soup another quick taste. It was still too bland to give to Vegeta. "We'll go visit with him for a few minutes."

"I can stay here," Dende said quietly. "I don't think he'll want an audience,"

"You're probably right," she agreed.

"I'll make sure your soup doesn't burn,"

"Thank you, Dende," she smiled and left the room with Trunks.

They found Tarble quietly sitting at the front of the ship. "We're going to go see Vegeta, would you like to come?"

"Of course!" He replied instantly.

"Just be warned, he's not in the best mood so if he says something nasty, just ignore it." Bulma warned him. She hoped he wouldn't be too mean to the boys. They'd waited such a long time to meet him.

She knocked twice on Vegeta's door before walking in. He was still sitting propped up like she'd left him and she couldn't tell if he'd dozed off again or not. "You're soup isn't ready yet, but the boys really wanted to say hello, is that alright, Vegeta?"

"Hmmn," he grunted in what she assumed was affirmative.

"Trunks, Tarble, I'd like for you to meet Vegeta," she said awkwardly. She couldn't introduce him as their father to both of them, nor did she want to address him that way to Trunks and make Tarble feel left out as not a part of their family.

"Father," Trunks said awkwardly.

Tarble nodded a hello but didn't say anything.

"Boys," Vegeta replied, looking them both over very carefully. Trunks looked almost exactly the same as he had as a baby with his blue eyes, olive skin and lavender hair, except it was cut in a sort of modern cut where it was long on the top but short on the back and sides. It fell like a mushroom cut. It did not look terrible, he decided it suited his face, which was a lot like his mother's. Tarble looked to be the spitting image of himself when he had been a boy. He assumed they were about the same age, yet Trunks was a few inches taller than Tarble, not taking into account Tarble's trademark hairstyle that was the same as his own and his father's.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Tarble finally said, feeling uncomfortable with Vegeta's severe gaze.

"How old are you both?" he asked awkwardly.

"We're fifteen," Trunks said.

"Fifteen," Vegeta repeated, looking at Bulma. How was that possible? Had they really spent fifteen years in King Cold's base, he wondered in despair.

"We were only there for seven years," Bulma quickly clarified, wanting to help him out as she saw the look on his face and wishing she'd have warned him about their ages. "King Cold had them train in a chamber-"

"Hyperbolic time chamber," he cut her off in understanding. That made sense.

"You remember?" she asked in a mix of hope and dread.

"Remember what?"

"I told you about it… Never mind, I'll fill you in later," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat at the memory of that day and that entire conversation. "It isn't important."

He looked at her suspiciously a moment, but did not press the issue.

"Is it true that you were one of the strongest warriors in the universe?" Tarble asked, feeling excited to finally be able to meet his idol.

Vegeta shot him an almost offended glare that had it been possible would have burned the poor boy to a crisp then and there before looking at Bulma.

"You know what, I think that's another conversation for another day," she interjected quickly as she could literally feel the shame radiating off of Vegeta. "Why don't you two check how that soup is coming along?"

Trunks snorted and shook his head as he turned and left with Tarble. "Why would you ask something like that right now?" They heard Trunks asking him in a hoarse whisper as they left and closed the door behind them.

Over the next week, things stayed the same. Dende and the boys avoided Vegeta like the plague and Bulma worked over time trying to help rehabilitate him, despite his completely defeated demeanor. She was relentless however and made sure to work with him every single day, several times a day whether he liked it or not.

"Okay, we need to start working again on getting you back to normal," Bulma said, sitting on the side of the bed that afternoon once he'd finished some stew.

"What is the point?" Vegeta huffed bitterly. "You should have left me,"

"We've been through this," she sighed. "I don't want to hear that anymore,"

He didn't say anything more as she lifted his left arm and began stretching and flexing it and moving it around.

"Can you feel any of that?" she asked.

"Yes, I can  _feel_ ," he replied in a bitter tone. "I am atrophied, not paralyzed."

"I know that," she replied, not letting his sour attitude deter her. "Which is why I am trying to do these range of motion exercises with you. At least your muscles are flexible and you aren't stiff."

"I cannot move to even care for myself in the most basic manner. I fail to see any positive take on this."

"Well it means that it might not be that long before you can do things for yourself," she said, trying to keep her tone positive despite his negative attitude. "Can you push back?" she asked, lacing her fingers with his and lightly pushing against him.

Vegeta frowned as he tried. He couldn't push back, but he was able to resist her pushing. He sighed in frustration.

"Hey, it's alright," she said soothingly, stopping her motions and settling for just holding his hand.

"It is  _not_  alright!" he snapped at her nastily.

Bulma swallowed hard, trying not to get emotional in front of him. That would only make him angrier and less pleasant to deal with. She distracted herself by rotating his wrist in circles and back and forth. She wasn't going to just give up on trying to help him because he was being miserable. If she could at least make some progress maybe that would encourage him and show him that he was capable of making a recovery.

"Stop," he said.

Bulma ignored him though and kept with her current activity. She was determined that he would be able to come back from this. All it would take was hard work and patience.

"I said,  _stop_ ," he said again, more firmly this time though she looked up at him in surprise and he instantly regretted his harsh tone. She was only trying to help him and he knew that, however it was killing him inside that he was so useless.

"Do that again," she said with a smile. "You squeezed my hand,"

Vegeta frowned as he concentrated and a moment later squeezed her hand again.

"See?" she asked with a smile, squeezing him back.

"So what," he huffed. "This means nothing."

"It's a small step in the right direction, Vegeta," she said firmly. "Do it again."

He growled, but did it again and again, the strength of his squeezing increasing a little more each time.

They continued for some time and she finally moved to the other side of the bed to start on his other hand and was happy to note that his right side was stronger. He was able to move his wrist a little on his own and showed some resistance.

Inside, he was thrilled. Maybe there was a chance that he could recover! However he didn't show it on the outside or comment on it. He didn't want to get his or Bulma's hopes up.

"You're going to be just fine," she said encouragingly. "We just have to be patient is all."

"Hmmn," he grunted as he realized he could lift his right arm just a little. Again, inside he rejoiced. He raised his hand weakly, reaching forward and brushed his fingers through her hair. "Why would you butcher your hair in such a way?" he asked with a slight frown. It was something he had been wanting to ask her. Her hair was still nearly boy short and it wasn't so much the short hair that bothered him; she was beautiful to him no matter what she did, it was the  _way_  the cut was done that was off to him, as though she'd cut it all into a brush cut at some point and he wondered why she'd do such a thing?

"It was always in the way," she said nonchalantly, waving her hand as though it were no big deal. She had left it to grow since her trip to the other timeline. She hadn't had the desire or energy to do much with it except trim her bangs to keep it out of her face.

He looked at her suspiciously, taking in every detail of her appearance and she was thankful she was wearing a sweater so that he would not see her back or stomach. She wasn't ready to talk about any of that.

"You are too thin," he said, brushing the back of his hand lightly across her cheek, where the cheek bone was more pronounced than it should be.

"Yea, well I wasn't exactly living the high life all this time, Vegeta," she sighed in frustration at him for his observations, standing up to get away from him, his intense scrutiny making her very uncomfortable. She was going to walk away to put some space between them but he grabbed her disfigured hand. Not tightly, he couldn't; but the gesture prompted her to stay.

"Are you alright?" he asked and she could feel his mind brush against hers lightly. Instead of opening herself up to him, she ignored it, afraid if she opened up and let him in, she would not be able to control the deluge of intense emotions that would come with responding to that question. While they still hadn't had a meaningful conversation about everything, she knew she couldn't now. She wasn't ready.

"Yea," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat and faked a smile as she squeezed his hand back reassuringly with her good hand. "I'm fine,"

He didn't blink as he studied her intently and she knew he didn't believe her. "Tell me about everything,"

"Tell me about everything you know or what you remember up to," she hedged.

Vegeta gave her an annoyed look but relented. "I remember everything up to just after the trial. Things are... hazy after that. I know that Gero used me as a science experiment and made you assist. I do not remember how I got into the regeneration tank."

Bulma sighed inwardly in relief. So maybe he didn't remember the first encounter with Jeyice. "You don't remember what happened or why you were put in there?"

"No," he replied with a frown trying to remember.

"Well, that's not such a bad thing," she said lightly with a shrug.

"What happened?" he asked. "I want to know."

Bulma sighed, not wanting to tell him. "Gero cut you open and you died so he put you in the tank and King Cold told him to leave you in there because he wanted him to focus on other projects," she told him. "You did wake up in there briefly while Cold was there telling Gero to do that. We spoke through the bond and I filled you in on what was going on. Do you remember that?"

He looked at her intently as his mind raced, trying to recall the events she had just described. From the way she was looking at him, he was under the distinct impression that there was something important he  _should_ be remembering, but nothing came to his mind. "No, I don't," he admitted after a long moment.

He caught the relieved look on her face as she sighed. She covered it quickly, but he noticed it.

"What else happened?" he asked.

"It was around that time that I was allowed to start seeing the boys," she answered. "I told you about it when you woke up briefly in the tank before Cold made the decision to put you out indefinitely."

He thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I do not remember,"

"It's alright," she smiled at him, feeling a little better. Maybe she could avoid discussing all that horribleness altogether. If Vegeta didn't remember, then she wouldn't have to talk about it and she could pretend it never happened. "You were pretty heavily sedated. Gero was surprised you'd even woken up considering the bad state you'd been in when he put you in there."

"Hmmn," he grunted. "Maybe it is better that way,"

"It is," she nodded. "It was pretty scary."

They were both silent for a while, neither one sure of what to say to the other. "You are alright, though?"

"Yea," she answered quickly. "I'll be fine. I mean, I'm still a bit shaken up and I'm still waiting to wake up to only discover that our actual escaping was only a dream and we're all still there, but I'm okay."

"Hmmn," he grunted again, watching her closely. He could tell that she wasn't being entirely truthful but was too tired to question her on it further. They were out and he knew eventually he would get the whole story so he wasn't overly concerned at the moment.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, feeling the sudden need to get away from him so that he would quit analysing her and everything she said. Why was it so awkward being around him? Things had never been like this between them and she was reminded that they had been separated for so long and she had experienced so much that they were essentially strangers.

"A little," he nodded.

"Alright, I'll be right back." She said, leaving the room to get him some food, startled to see Trunks in the hall.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Trunks asked.

"Because now is not the time," she sighed irritably, making sure the door was shut completely. "Besides, it's rude of you to be eavesdropping."

"And how will you know when the  _right time_ is?" he asked. "There is no right time, mom."

"I know, but right now  _really isn't_  the right time," she said again. "We need to work on getting him better."

"Alright and then tell him,  _oh ya by the way I was Jeyice's personal sex slave for 6 years, but no big deal_ ," Trunks snorted in distain.

Bulma slapped him. It happened so fast he hadn't even seen it coming to avoid it. "Don't you  _dare_ make light of that!" she seethed in a low tone before grabbing his arm and dragging him to a different part of the ship far away from Vegeta's room where he wouldn't be able to hear them even with the door closed. "You have no idea how horrible that was for me and you have no idea how much that is going to destroy your father when he finds out. Right now I need to focus on positive things. I don't  _feel_  like rehashing the bad and the horrible. It's done, over."

"So you are sparing yourself, not him," he said accusingly. "Is that why you lied and told him you were fine?"

"I  _am_ fine," she insisted.

"You are not," he said. "And him asking you  _twice_  if you were alright  _was_ the perfect time, mom."

Bulma sighed. "Well there will just have to be another perfect time then," she said dismissively. "And in the meantime, you are to not say a word to him about it, do you understand me? That is  _my_  story and  _my_  burden to bare. I will tell him when he is recovered and when  _I_  am ready to talk about it. It's  _my_  business, not yours."

"And if he never recovers?" Trunks snorted. "Then what, you'll just never tell him?"

"He will recover," she said confidently. "Now leave it alone, this doesn't concern you."

"Whatever, mom," he sighed, walking away from her. "Just don't be upset when he's angry because you didn't tell him."

"Well, you can be the first one to tell me  _I told you so_ ," she said, turning and leaving him in the room to go and prepare a meal for Vegeta.

-0-0-0-

The weeks dragged on slowly as they travelled. Tensions were high as Vegeta's mood was not improving. Physically he still could not do anything for himself and despite the small improvements he had made, all he could focus on was everything he couldn't do.

Bulma never left his side, unless it was to prepare him a meal. Things between them were extremely awkward. Vegeta was ashamed of his current condition and blamed himself for their situation and Bulma had made no attempt to tell him about the main events that had happened while he had been confined to the regeneration tank.

Trunks and Vegeta could barely be in the same room without hurling insults at one another and Tarble just avoided Vegeta altogether, not wanting to be a victim of his cutting remarks. He spent most of his time piloting the ship or helping out in the kitchen.

Bulma could not wait for their arrival on Callisto. She assumed part of the problem was that they were all going stir crazy in the small ship with no escape or change of scenery. They'd made a quick stop on a very small planet where Bulma had spent a few hours looking for a wheelchair for Vegeta. She'd finally found one just as she'd been about ready to give up. She'd also found some heavy duty elastic bands to use for possible resistance training for Vegeta.

Of course, he refused to use any of it. He hated the wheelchair, even though she made him come out to join them for meals and he refused to use any of the bands to help in his rehabilitation. He had regained some use of his hands, but not enough to be able to push himself around on the wheelchair himself or feed himself or do basic things. He had to rely on Bulma for everything.

"I cannot even fathom why you would have bothered with me!" He snarled, refusing to let her feed him anymore that afternoon. He'd refused to come out for lunch, so she'd stubbornly brought lunch in bed for him. Currently, she was sitting on the side of the bed, next to him, trying to get him to eat something. "I have nothing! Everything is gone, there is nothing left for me. Why would you do this?"

"So what, me and Trunks are nothing?" She snipped at him angrily.

"You know what I meant, do not twist my words," he said quietly. "I am nothing! I am broken, I cannot walk or fly or fight, I cannot do anything! My home is gone and so are my people; I am the heir to a dead race and I cannot even stand up, feed myself or take a piss on my own, never mind destroy the ones that took everything from us and avenge my family's suffering or the lives of my people!" he ranted and Bulma could tell he was so frustrated he was on the verge of tears.

"I know," she whispered, reaching for him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Do not!" He said harshly between grit teeth, feeling even more frustrated that he could not even shove her away.

"Vegeta, I'm not leaving you," she said firmly. "I will help you. You will walk again, and you will fight and fly again, I promise."

"Do not make promises of things you cannot be certain of."

"I am certain that you will walk again, Vegeta. You are stronger and more driven than anyone I have ever known," she said firmly with conviction, swallowing back the lump in her throat and blinking back the tears she felt welling up behind her eyes. "I will help you and we will do this together and then you can pay them back for everything they've put us through. I know you can do it. It will take some time, but you will get there and you will walk and be whole again, I know it!"

He shook his head in defeat and his body shook in convulsions as he sobbed silently. He hated himself for breaking down this way and especially in front of her, but he could not hold it back. He tried to push her away, wishing that she would just leave and let him wallow on his own; he did not want her to witness him this way, it was disgraceful. But when she reached for him again and clung tightly to him he did not have the strength to tell her to go.

She shifted on to the small bed so that he was sitting between her legs, as it was more comfortable for the both of them and took him in her arms, wrapping them around his waist tightly settling herself behind him. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she rocked him back and forth as though he was a child. It was then that she let herself cry as well.

He was able to place a hand over one of hers and weakly squeezed it, his way of acknowledging her and the only way he could offer her his own comfort at the moment. He knew she meant well and was only trying to help and that she had probably suffered through her own misery, which only made him angrier.

They both sat there in silence and sobbed for each other, not bothering to hold back or be strong for the moment. They remained that way for what could have been minutes or hours, not speaking, just clinging to one another, purging their emotions in the comfort and knowledge that no one was aware of their broken display to judge them or berate them.

Eventually they both had purged everything that there was to be discarded and they fell asleep contentedly in each other's warm embrace, ready to face whatever trial was next together. In this case, rehabilitating Vegeta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Upon editing this for the umpteenth time, I realized I may have messed up the timeline a bit with regards to Trunks and Tarble's ages… I keep thinking they're like 12 or 13 but I went back and re read a ton of chapters and if I do the math, they'd be 15 years old. They were almost a year old when they were taken. Then four months in, they met Bulma at the age of 8 because of all the time spent in the chamber. So add seven years to eight, and that gives you 15. Sorry! I can't believe I didn't notice that sooner and I should have been keeping a better account of their ages. I'd meant to spread the story out as they matured, but I hate, hate HATE writing military missions and scrapped that so ya... Hope that clears up any possible confusion there. My deepest apologies for my sloppy story telling! I didn't even notice it until proofing this chapter and then went back to make sure of their ages. Was going to just keep them at 12 or 13, but then realized the math didn't add up and so I aged them.. Which I think is ok given Trunk's bad teenage attitude at the moment.
> 
> Just a warning that it may be quite a while before I am able to update again… I have been super busy with work, am fighting some kind of weird viral infection since about January that I'd thought had gone away, but is back with a vengeance all while trying to prepare my Sam for our first real trial in October and because I apparently don't think I have enough on my plate, I decided to get a new puppy! I'm currently so stressed out that the poor little guy is still nameless after 3 weeks… (Right now it's "hey, you!" and "Stop that!" or "Can you not?") So the current running joke around our house is "A puppy has no name" Lol! Any Game of Thrones fans out there? Sooo… I've got my hands full! The next bit of written material is all for much later on after they have arrived and settled on Callisto (Sorry for the spoiler) so I need to write the next entire chapter pretty much and I currently have nothing. Thanks for your patience! I will finish this, I promise! It just may take me a little bit…


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